| MBB/WBB SEC / Big 12 Challenge: Alabama vs Oklahoma ~ 11 AM CT on ESPN.

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 9/8 Alabama men's basketball team steps outside SEC play for the final time in the regular season when it takes on No. 24/RV Oklahoma Sooners in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in Norman, Okla., on Saturday. The contest, which will be the first of 10 games between the two conferences throughout the day, is scheduled to tip off at 11 a.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.

It is the second time the two teams have met in the annual event. The last meeting came on Jan. 27, 2018 when Alabama defeated then-No. 12 Oklahoma, 80-73, inside Coleman Coliseum. That contest featured the match-up between future NBA stars Collin Sexton and Trae Young and featured a school record 54 NBA scouts in attendance.

This year marks the fifth time Alabama has competed in the annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which enters its ninth season in 2021. In last year's Challenge, UA defeated Kansas State 77-74 in Coleman Coliseum to improve to 3-1 all-time in the event. In addition to the wins over the Wildcats and Sooners, Alabama's other win came in the first year of the event when UA downed Texas Tech 76-64 on Nov. 14, 2013. The Crimson Tide's lone loss came at Baylor where it fell, 73-68, on Jan. 26, 2019.

The Tide enters the contest having won 10 straight and 11 of its last 12 games following a 70-59 victory over Kentucky last Tuesday night. It marks the longest winning streak since starting the 1996-97 campaign with 10 consecutive victories before suffering its first setback. The last time UA won 11 consecutive games in a season came during the 1986-87 campaign (won 12 straight that year).

The Broadcast

  • Saturday's game will be available on ESPN with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Dan Dakcih (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.
Team Notes

  • Alabama vaulted up the national rankings, checking it at No. 9 in the Associated Press Top-25 and tied at No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches poll. It's the first time since the first week of January of 2007 that UA has earned a top-10 national ranking in the AP Poll.
  • Nationally, Alabama currently ranks second in the NCAA in three-pointers attempted (514), fourth in made (185) and sixth in threes made per game (10.9) coming into its contest at Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide is also fourth nationally in average possession length on offense (14.3) and ninth in the nation in adjusted tempo (74.6 possessions per game).
  • Joshua Primo earned the league's Freshman of the Week honor for the week of Jan. 25. It marks Primo's first career weekly recognition, while also making the fourth time in the past five weeks that an Alabama player has been recognized by the SEC. Primo joined Jaden Shackelford, who was recognized on Dec. 28, and John Petty Jr., who was tabbed the Player of the Week on Jan. 4 and Jan. 18, as UA players who have been garnered the weekly recognition this year.
  • At a perfect 9-0 in league play, Alabama has three more wins than anyone else in the league standings and has outscored its league competition by a combined +145 points. The next closest team is Florida, who has outscored its league competition by a combined +37 points.
  • The Tide's nine-straight SEC wins has matched the second-best start to league play in program history. Only the 1955-56 "Rocket 8" team was better, finishing that year with a perfect 14-0 mark in league play. Moreover, Alabama currently owns a three-game lead in the league and is the only conference leader to have at least a three-game separation from the rest of the conference.
  • In conference games only, Alabama leads the SEC in five separate offensive categories. The Tide ranks No. 1 in the league in scoring offense (84.9), scoring margin (+16.1), three-point field goal percentage (.412), threes made per game (12.4) and rebounding offense (40.3), while also ranking second in assists per game (15.6).
About Alabama

  • Alabama enters contest at No. 24 Oklahoma riding an 10-game winning streak – the longest winning streak dating back to winning 10 consecutive to open the 1996-97 campaign. The Crimson Tide extended its best win streak in nearly 25 years with a 70-59 home win over Kentucky last Tuesday night. It marked UA's second win over Kentucky this year – the first time Alabama swept the Wildcats in a season series in 32 years (1988-89).
  • Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 12.0 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats on the season. Guard John Petty Jr. leads the way at 13.9 ppg while Jaden Shackelford is second on the team with 13.5 ppg. Forward Herbert Jones averages 12.9 ppg followed by Jahvon Quinerly's 12.0 ppg.
  • Jones, considered one of the top defensive players in the entire nation, leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg), charges taken (6), Blue Collar Points (358.5, 21.1 BCP per game), deflections (61), floor dives (14) and Hard Hat Awards (9). He also boasts much improved offensive numbers during his senior season. In addition to averaging double digits, Jones is collecting 2.7 assists per contest, while shooting 47.7 percent from the field (71-of-149) and leads the team in free throw shooting (80.0 percent, 64-of-80), three point shooting (48.1 percent, 13-of-27) and free throws made and attempted.
  • The combination of Petty (44-of-105) and Shackelford (33-of-95) have combined to hit 77 of the Tide's 185 three-pointers (41.6 percent) and have 200 of the team's 514 (38.8 percent) total attempts from beyond the arc. Combined, the duo is shooting 38.5 percent (77-of-200) from beyond the arc.
  • As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 11.1 points per contest (81.1-69.9) while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from deep and 71.2 percent from the charity stripe.
  • It's the Crimson Tide's defense that has set the tone to its 9-0 start in SEC play. UA leads the league in defensive efficiency, ranking first in field goal percentage defense (37.5 percent), three-point field goal percentage defense (26.5 percent) and steals (9.1), while ranking third in scoring defense (68.8).
  • This season, the Tide welcomed back four starters and five of its top seven scorers off last year's team, three were named as All-SEC performers a year ago. Petty (Second Team All-SEC), Shackelford (All-Freshman) and Jones (All-Defensive) all earned a spot on the postseason teams. Both Petty and Jones tested the NBA waters, with Petty, who was one of the last players to withdraw his name, announcing his return in early August and Jones in mid-June.
  • 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 30-18 (.625) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 126-61 (.674).
About Oklahoma

  • Oklahoma enters the SEC/Big 12 Challenge as one of the hotter teams in the country. The Sooners are riding a four-game winning streak, including back-to-back victories over top-15 teams in then-No. 9 Kansas (75-68) on Jan. 23 and most recently a road win at No. 5 Texas (80-79) last Tuesday. Oklahoma has won eight of its last 11 contests, including a win over then-No. 9 West Virginia (75-71) on Jan. 2, entering Saturday's contest against No. 9/8 Alabama.
  • Oklahoma currently owns a 10-4 overall record and a 6-3 mark in Big 12 play. The Sooners lone loss in non-conference action came in their third game of the season when they fell at Xavier, 99-77, back on Dec. 9. The only other losses have come to ranked conference opponents – vs. Texas Tech (69-67), at Baylor (76-61) and at Kansas (63-59).
  • Senior Austin Reaves enters the contest leading the Sooners offensively. The 6-5 guard tops the team with 15.8 points, 5.1 assists and is tied for the team lead with 5.1 rebounds per contest. Reaves is joined in double figure scoring by sophomore guard De'vion Harmon (12.8 ppg) and senior forward Brady Manek (10.9 ppg).
  • Senior forward Kur Kuath and junior guard Umoja Gibson contribute on both ends of the floor. Kuath is tied for the team lead with Reaves in rebounding (5.1 rpg) and tops OU in blocks (1.7 bpg) and field goal percentage (.560) while averaging 7.6 ppg. Meanwhile, Gibson leads the team in three-point shooting (29-of-69, .420), while ranking second in steals (1.2 spg) and fourth in scoring (8.9 ppg).
  • As a team, Oklahoma is outscoring the competition by 9.8 points per game (77.6-67.8), while shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from three-point range and 75.1 percent from the charity stripe. The Sooners ranks second in the Big 12 in points per game and field goal percentage and leads the league in assist/turnover ratio with 15.2 assists per game compared to 10.2 turnovers a contest.
  • Oklahoma head coach Lon Kruger comes into Saturday's game with an all-time record of 668-424 (.612) in his 35th season at the helm of the men's basketball program. Now in his 10th season at Oklahoma, Kruger owns a record of 188-121 (.608).
Alabama-Oklahoma – Series Notes

  • Saturday's contest between Oklahoma and Alabama will mark the ninth meeting in the series. The Sooners lead the all-time series 5-3.
  • The last time the two teams met came on Jan. 27, 2018 in the Challenge. In a battle between future NBA Starts Collin Sexton (Alabama) and Trae Young (Oklahoma), the Crimson Tide captured a thrilling 80-73 victory inside Coleman Coliseum. A box score from that game can be found on the right.
  • After Oklahoma won the first three contests in the series, the two teams have alternated wins in each of the last five games they have played. Previous to the first time the teams met in the annual event,it was Oklahoma behind the strength of Buddy Hield who pulled out an 82-73 victory in the Tip Off Classic, which was played at American Airlines Arena in the Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 8, 2013.
  • Of the eight games played between the teams, only two have been on the Sooners' home court. The second game of the series was played in the Norman, Okla., on Dec. 13, 1971, with Oklahoma taking a 79-73 victory. The only other trip to the Lloyd Noble Center can on Dec. 31, 2005, when the Sooners captured a 68-56 victory.
 
Normally we'll see who's calling the game a day or two before tip but I haven't seen anything this week. It may have changed in the last day or two considering the channel changed recently. (If you didn't catch it Bama was supposed to be on the deuce with Duke/Clemson on the mothership. The two were switched.)

This past week I ran across this tweet from Passink that was in response to another comment about Vitale talking about the Kenny Chesney concert during the last Bama game. The folks at CTSN have taken notice.

(Links to listening at the bottom.)


 

Alabama vs Oklahoma Broadcast
Date: Saturday, January 30
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
Network: ESPN

Why Alabama Will Win
The Crimson Tide have been fabulous from the field over their ten-game winning streak, they’re great from the line, and they proved in the win over Kentucky that they can win even when they’re not on from three.

Few teams in America shoot or make more threes than Alabama, and they’re going to keep on firing away. Bomb from three, come up with a slew of steals, and put the pressure on the other side – it’s working.

For all of the good things Oklahoma is doing, it’s nothing special at stopping the three – teams are hitting 34% from outside on the Sooner D. But …

Why Oklahoma Will Win
OU is more than happy to get into a three-point shooting contest with anyone. The Sooners don’t shoot as many as Alabama, but they have no problems bombing away. They’re good enough on the offensive boards and they’re just good enough on the inside, too, to score in a variety of ways.

Yes, Alabama is one of the best teams in the country at forcing steals and mistakes, but OU is just as strong. It’s the best team in the Big 12 at forcing turnovers, the Tide will make their share of errors.

What’s Going To Happen
These two are similar in a whole slew of ways, but Alabama does what it does a bit better than Oklahoma does what it does.

However, the Sooners are outstanding at home, they’ve been consistent, and they have the style to survive the barrage of offense that always comes from this Tide team.

Alabama vs Oklahoma Prediction, Line
Oklahoma 83, Alabama 80
Bet on college basketball with BetMGM
Oklahoma -1.5, o/u: 153.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

Must See Rating: 4.5
 
Normally we'll see who's calling the game a day or two before tip but I haven't seen anything this week. It may have changed in the last day or two considering the channel changed recently. (If you didn't catch it Bama was supposed to be on the deuce with Duke/Clemson on the mothership. The two were switched.)

This past week I ran across this tweet from Passink that was in response to another comment about Vitale talking about the Kenny Chesney concert during the last Bama game. The folks at CTSN have taken notice.

(Links to listening at the bottom.)



Vitale is pure obnoxious....what a clown
 
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