TUSCALOOSA, Ala. –Alabama plays its third consecutive home game to begin the season as it welcomes South Alabama to Coleman Coliseum Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
The Crimson Tide (2-0) is in search of its third straight win to open the season, which would be the program's first 3-0 start since winning its first five contests to open the 2017-18 season. A win would also give the Crimson Tide its 13th consecutive home victory, which is the longest home winning streak since claiming a school-record 24-straight home wins from March of 2010 to December of 2011.
The Broadcast
- Tuesday's game will be available on SEC Network+ with Eli Gold (play-by-play) and Richard Hendrix (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, and Tom Stipe (engineer) turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Notes You Need To Know
- Alabama will be looking for its first 3-0 start since beginning 5-0 back in 2017-18. A win would also give the Crimson Tide its 13th consecutive home victory, which is the longest home winning streak since claiming a school-record 24-straight home wins from March of 2010 to December of 2011.
- Head coach Nate Oats signed the No. 3-ranked recruiting class in the nation, according to both Rivals and 247Sports. The highest-ranked signing class in program history included a pair of five-star signees – a first in program history – and three additional four-star prospects.
- Alabama is off to a hot start on the offensive end of the floor, thanks in large part to the play of senior Keon Ellis. Not only is the Eustis, Fla., native averaging a double-double at 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds a game, but he also has a plus-minus of +63 across the Tide's first two contests vs. Louisiana Tech (+37) and South Alabama (+26).
- The Crimson Tide is currently ranked No. 8 in KenPom's offensive efficiency rankings, while checking in at No. 34 in defensive efficiency. The same site also ranked UA No. 15 in the nation in offensive tempo. Through its opening two contests, Alabama is averaging 98.5 points per game, while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from beyond the arc
- Alabama will face what is arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in the nation this season. The Tide will take on eight teams that were picked to win their respective league (including SEC), four foes among the nation's top-15 teams according to the Preseason AP Poll and three of last year's final four teams. In all, the Tide will face 13 teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason top-25 poll.
- The Crimson Tide scored 93 points against Louisiana Tech and 104 points against South Dakota State to total 197 points across its first two contests. That is the most points scored in the Tide's opening two contests of a season since going for 202 points in its first two contests in 2001-02 (defeated Troy 92-64 and Arkansas Pine-Bluff 110-53).
- The backcourt entered the season as arguably one of the best in the nation, and through two games it has held up to just that. The four guard combination of Jaden Shackelford (20.0 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (17.5 ppg), Keon Ellis (16.0 ppg) and JD Davison (9.0 ppg) are combining to score 63.0 of the Tide's 98.5 points per game average, or approximately 64 percent of the team's per game average.
- Darius Miles is off to a hot start to the 2021-22 season, averaging 12.0 points a game, while knocking down 9-of-13 (.692) shots from the field and 6-7 (.857) to lead the Crimson Tide in three-point field goal percentage.
- Up Next: Alabama will conclude its four-game home streak to begin the year by welcoming Oakland on Friday night in Coleman Coliseum. The contest, which will be the Tide's last home game until Dec. 11 (vs. No. 15 Houston) will tip off at 7 p.m. CT and can be viewed on SEC Network+.
About Alabama
- Alabama returns its top two scorers and 10 letterwinners from last season's SEC Championship team that went on to finish 27-6 overall and 16-2 in the SEC while claiming the 2021 SEC regular season and tournament championships.
- In addition, UA welcomes the nation's No.11-ranked signing class, which includes McDonald's All-American and 5-star prospect JD Davison, as well as highly-ranked freshmen Jusuan Holt and Charles Bediako, along with highly-touted graduate transfer Noah Gurley (Furman)
- UA won the program's eighth SEC regular season championship, finishing with a 16-2 league record which tied for the most wins in the conference in program history. In addition to claiming the 2021 crown, the Crimson Tide also claimed regular season titles in 1934, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1987 and 2002.
- Alabama has won seven SEC Tournament titles with last year's championship game victory over LSU. It was the first tournament title by the Tide in 30 years, with the last coming in 1991. In all, the Tide has won 15 combined championships - the eight regular season titles ranking third-most and the seven tournament championships ranking second-best in the league.
- The Tide holds an all-time record of 1,719-1,068-1 (.616), which includes an 815-629 (.565) record in SEC play. By capturing its 800th SEC win, Alabama joined Kentucky as the only two teams in conference history to reach the milestone. UA also became the third team in the SEC and 34th team in NCAA history to reach 1,700 program wins. Only Kentucky and Arkansas have more wins than the Crimson Tide.
- UA has made 37 NCAA (21) or NIT (16) appearances in program lore. It was the program's third appearance since 2012 (also earned an at-large bid in 2018).
- The Tide made its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and has reached its eighth Sweet 16 showing. Alabama owns a record of 21-21 (.512) in NCAA Tournament games.
- Alabama also ranks second in the SEC in league victories and third in all-time winning percentage.
About South Alabama
- South Alabama enters the contest in Tuscaloosa with a 1-1 overall record, defeating Spring Hill College (102-41) in its season opener before falling at Wichita State (64-58) last Saturday night.
- The Jaguars welcomed 10 newcomers but only two letterwinners – both starters – for the 2021-22 season. Of the 10 newest additions, eight are transfers, including four from SEC programs (Jay Jay Chandler from Texas A&M, Charles Manning Jr. from LSU and Javon Franklin and Tyrell Jones from Auburn.
- South Alabama was picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt preseason poll. The Jaguars are coming off a 17-11 overall record and a 10-7 record in conference play, which was good for fifth overall. USA has won 17 or more games in three straight seasons coming into the 21-22 campaign.
- The Jaguars rank among the lowest percentage of minutes returning in the country for the 2021-22 season. USA is bringing back just 28.6 percent of minutes played from last season, which ranks as the eighth fewest in the NCAA.
- The Jaguars will travel to Tuscaloosa to take on Alabama on Nov. 16 for the first time since a 72-50 loss on Dec. 1, 2000 and just the second time in program history. The Crimson Tide leads the series 2-1 all-time, with the Jags' lone win coming in an 86-84 victory in the 1989 NCAA Tournament.
- Head coach Richie Riley is in his fourth season at the helm of the South Alabama program. The former assistant coach at UAB owns a record of 55-40 (.579) with the Jaguars. Now in his sixth season as a D-I head coach 90-68 (.570).
Last Time Out
- The No. 14/13 Alabama men's basketball team scored 63 second-half points in an impressive 104-88 victory over Summit League preseason favorites South Dakota State in Coleman Coliseum Friday night.
- Jahvon Quinerly led the five Crimson Tide players in double figures with a career-best 26 points to go along with a game-high eight assists in the victory
- Jaden Shackelford added 23 points to earn his 14th career 20-point game, while Keon Ellis notched his first career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 13 rebounds in the victory.
Keon's Positive Effect
- Keon Ellis had a impressive week in leading No. 14/13 Alabama to back-to-back home wins over Louisiana Tech (93-64) and South Dakota State (104-88) across the first week of the regular season.
- Ellis shined in the victories, shooting 58.8 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from beyond the arc, averaging a double-double of 16.5 points and 11.0 rebounds to go along with 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
- He set rebounding career high numbers in both games, grabbing nine vs. the Bulldogs followed by a career-best 13 boards against the Jack Rabbits, while his 18 points against Louisiana Tech also marked a career-high number.
- The most impressive stat was his impact while in the game, combined for a two-game total of +63 in the plus-minus category
- Ellis' +37 in the win over La Tech matches the highest single-game total in the Nate Oats era while his two-game total also set a record since the stat started being kept three years ago
Isn’t that blasphemy around these parts? I haven’t heard him call a basketball game in years, mainly because I haven’t lived in a listening area for years.
