No. 8/5 Alabama Concludes Regular Season Saturday at Georgia - Alabama Athletics
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 8/5 Alabama will play its 2020-21 regular season finale when it travels to take on Georgia Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT on CBS. T...
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 8/5 Alabama will play its 2020-21 regular season finale when it travels to take on Georgia Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT on CBS. The contest, which was added as a part of make-up Saturday in the SEC, will be the second game in the last three weeks played between the two teams,
The Crimson Tide captured a 115-82 win in Tuscaloosa exactly three weeks ago (Feb. 13). It was the second-most points scored by Alabama in any game in program history. In fact, coupled with the 105-102 overtime victory at Stegeman Coliseum on Feb. 8, 2020, the Tide has scored a combined 220 points across its last two games against the Bulldogs.
Alabama improved to 20-6 overall and 15-2 in SEC play with its 70-58 victory over in-state rival Auburn last Saturday to earn a series sweep over the Tigers for the first time since 2014-15. The Crimson Tide cut down the nets following that contest to celebrate its SEC regular season championship which it secured following a 64-59 win at Mississippi State on Feb. 27. It was the Tide's first regular season in 19 years (dating back to 2001-02) and eighth SEC regular season crown in program history.
It is the first time since the 1975-76 year that both the Alabama football and men's basketball teams won the SEC regular season championship in the same season. The Crimson Tide also became the first SEC school to win conference titles in both sports in the same year since Florida achieved the feat in 2006-07.
The Broadcast
- Saturday's game will be available on CBS with Brad Nessler (play-by-play) and Pete Gillen (analyst) on the call.
- The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
- Alabama remained in the national rankings, checking it at No. 8 in the Associated Press Top-25 and No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches poll. It's the highest ranking for the Tide in the AP Poll this year. In fact, the last time UA was ranked inside the AP Top-10 in the month of March came in 2002. That year, UA was ranked as high as No. 6 in the first week of March on its way to claiming its most recent SEC regular season title prior to this season.
- Herbert Jones has been named as a semifinalist for both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Player of the Year awards. He is one of only two players in the nation (10 players on each list) who earned a spot on each of the prestigious lists joining Evan Mobley at USC.
- Behind the play of Jones, Alabama owns the nation's No. 3-ranked defense, according to the Ken Pomeroy ratings (as of 3/4). Last year, the Tide was rated by the same site at No. 114 in the category. The Tide also ranks No. 41 in offensive efficiency making UA one of just six teams in the nation to have a top-50 offense and a top-10 defense.
- Alabama ranks second the nation in three-point field goals made (278) and attempted (790) entering Saturday's game at Georgia (as of March 4). Additionally, the Crimson Tide fourth in the NCAA in threes made per game (10.7). Furthermore, the Tide is also second nationally in average possession length on offense (14.0) and 10th in the nation in adjusted tempo (74.1 possessions per game).
- John Petty Jr. has made an SEC-leading 62 three-pointers this season (62-of-163). Petty is the team's second-leading scorer at 12.8 ppg and is one of four UA players who averages better than 38-percent shooting from deep (Jones - 45.5%, Quinerly - 43.8%, Primo - 39.6% and Petty - 38.0%).
- After finishing last year at 16-15 overall and 8-10 in SEC play, Alabama has a record of 20-6 overall and 15-2 in conference action entering the final week of the regular season. The 15 SEC wins are tied for second-most in the school record books and are the most since the 1986-87 team captured a school record 16 league victories. Additionally, UA has reached 20 wins in 26 games which is the fastest to 20 victories since reaching 20 wins in 24 contests back in 2004-05
- Five UA players shoot better than 40-percent from beyond the arc in SEC play. Jahvon Quinerly leads the way at 50.0 percent (31-of-62), followed by Herbert Jones' 43.3 percent (13-of-30), Joshua Primo's 43.1 percent (28-of-65), John Petty's 42.7 percent (47-of-110) and Keon Ellis' 40.6 percent (13-of-32) . Petty leads the league in conference games only in three-point shooting as the only player on the team to meet the 2.5 threes made per game criteria.
- In league games only, UA's defense is the most efficient in the SEC, ranking first in field goal percentage defense (.394), three-point field goal percentage defense (.250) and defensive rebounds (28.7), ranks second in steals (8.9) and fifth in scoring defense (69.6). Offensively, UA leads the league in scoring offense (81.5), scoring margin (+11.9), three-point shooting (.375), threes made per game (11.5) and rebounding offense (40.5).
- The Crimson Tide is ranked No. 7 in the NCAA NET rankings (as of 3/4) which leads all SEC teams. Alabama is also projected by ESPN's Joe Lunardi as a No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, which would match the program's highest NCAA Tourney seed (No. 2 seed in 2002). The Tide owns six Quad 1 wins (6-4), which ranks third-most in the NCAA. Combined, UA owns a record of 14-5 against Quad 1 (7-4) and Quad 2 (7-1) opponents. Alabama is one of five SEC teams ranked among the top 30, which also includes No. 12 Arkansas, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 26 Florida and No. 29 LSU.
- Alabama enters its regular-season finale at Georgia having locked up the 2021 regular season SEC championship and the No. 1 overall seed heading into next week's conference tounament. Most recently, the Crimson Tide knocked off Auburn, 70-58, on Tuesday to complete the season sweep and improve to 20-6 overall and 15-2 in SEC play.
- The Tide has gone 16-3 over its last 19 games, with all three losses coming on the road to teams ranked in the top 25. Two of those three defeats were by a combined eight points, falling at then-No. 24 Oklahoma by five points (66-61) and at then-No. 18 Missouri by three points (68-65).
- Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 10.5 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats on the season. Guard Jaden Shackelford leads the way, averaging 14.5 ppg. Guard John Petty Jr. ranks second on the team in scoring average at 12.8 ppg, followed by guard Jahvon Quinerly (12.0 ppg) and forward Herbert Jones (11.0 ppg).
- Jones has been named as a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and a Naismith Player of the Year Semifinalist. With those honors, only he and one other player earned a spot on both teams (Evan Mobley, USC). Jones leads the team in rebounding (6.1 rpg), assists (3.1 apg), steals (1.7 spg), blocks (26), Blue Collar Points (525.5, 20.2 BCP per game), charges taken (13), deflections (88) and Hard Hat Awards (14). He also boasts much improved offensive numbers during his senior season. In addition to averaging double digits, Jones is shooting 44.9 percent from the field (97-of-216) and leads the team in three-point shooting (45.5 percent, 20-of-44), offensive rebounding (2.0 per game) and And-1's (7-for-8).
- The combination of Petty (62-of-163) and Shackelford (47-of-142) have combined to hit 109 of the Tide's 278 three-pointers (39.2 percent) and have 305 of the team's 790 total attempts from beyond the arc (38.6 percent). Combined, the duo is shooting 35.7 percent (109-of-305) from beyond the arc.
- As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 9.2 points per contest (79.2-70.0) while shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 35.2 percent from deep and 71.7 percent from the charity stripe.
- It's UA's defense that has set the tone in SEC play. UA leads the league in defensive efficiency, ranking first in field goal percentage defense (39.4 percent) and three-point field goal percentage defense (25.0 percent), while ranking second in steals (8.6) and sixth in scoring defense (70.3).
- Alabama was predicted to finish fifth overall as voted on by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Additionally, Petty All-SEC Preseason First Team honors by both the coaches and media members, while Jones earned a spot on the preseason second team as voted on by the league's head coaches.
- Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season at the helm of the Crimson Tide program and owns a record of 36-21 (.632) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 132-64 (.673).
- Georgia last played on Feb. 27 at South Carolina, dropping a 91-70 decision to the Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C. The Bulldogs did not have a midweek game this week as it had moved its game at Tennessee, which was originally scheduled for this week, to Feb. 10. Georgia finished the non-conference slate a perfect 7-0 but lost its first four SEC games. The Bulldogs enter the regular season finale with a record of 14-10 overall and 7-10 in the league.
- Three Georgia players average in double digits while four others are collecting between at least 8.5 points per contest. Guards Sahvir Wheeler (13.8 ppg) and K.D. Johnson (13.4 ppg) lead the way while forward Toumani Camara (12.7 ppg) all are averaging double digits this season.
- Wheeler also leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the nation with 7.1 assists per game, while Camara averages a team-best 7.7 rebounds a game. Justin Kier leads is fourth on the team in scoring average (9.6 ppg), and leads Georgia in steals (1.8 spg) with Andrew Garcia (9.1 ppg) and P.J. Horne (8.6 ppg) each contributing on the offensive end
- As a team, Georgia is averaging 77.7 points per game and shooting 46.8 percent from the floor as a team and 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Georgia allows the opposition to shoot 45.7 percent from the field and 33.5 percent from beyond the arc while giving up 77.7 points per contest. The Bulldogs also own a +1.7 advantage on the glass (37.5-35.8).
- Against league competition, UGA is being outscored by 6.8 points a game (76.3-83.1) and shooting 45.0 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs are allowing SEC foes to shoot 47.9 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from deep while getting outrebounded by an average of 2.3 boards per contest (34.9-37.2)
- Tom Crean is in his third season at the helm of the Georgia program and owns a 41-47 (.466) record. Now in his 21st season as a head coach, Crean, whose coaching stints include stops at Marquette (1999-2008) and Indiana (2008-17), owns an career record of 397-278 (.588).
- Saturday's game will be the 150th meeting on the hardwood between the two schools, which is the seventh-most games UA has played against any one opponent. The Crimson Tide owns a 97-52 lead in the series, with the 97 victories ranking fifth in program history.
- It marks the second meeting between the two teams this season. The Crimson Tide captured a 115-82 over Georgia back on Feb. 13 in Coleman Coliseum. It marked the second-most points scored in a single game in program history, as Alabama shot season highs of 64.3 percent from the field (36-of-56), 60.0 percent from three-point range (18-of-30) and 83.3 percent (25-of-30) from the charity stripe en route to the team's largest margin of victory on the year (33 points).
- The last time Alabama played Georgia inside Stegeman Coliseum came last season, when the Tide defeated the Bulldogs in overtime, 105-102. It marked the most points scored by Alabama in a true road game in program history, while the 207 combined points scored marked the third-most in the Alabama record books and the most combined points between UA and an opponent since 1971.
- Alabama has a record of 34-32 when playing Georgia in Athens including wins in two of the last three and four of the last six games played at Stegeman Coliseum between the rivals.
- Despite the final score of the contest three weeks ago, 20 of the last 30 meetings have been decided by under 10 points, including 13 of the last 18 played between the two schools.
- The series has seen 14 overtime games, with Alabama owning an 9-5 lead in such contests.
- The series began during 1921-22 campaign.
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