No. 11 Alabama is set to face South Carolina on Tuesday night

No. 11 Alabama is set to face South Carolina on Tuesday night

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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 11 Alabama closes its two-game road swing when it travels to Columbia, SC to face the South Carolina Gamecocks on Tuesday night inside the Colonial Life Arena. It is the only meeting between the two teams during the regular season.

Alabama and South Carolina face each other for the 48th time overall, with Crimson Tide having a 31-16 lead in the series’ history. Crimson Tide won five consecutive games in the series by entering Tuesday’s clash. The two teams played only once last season, with Alabama making a 90-86 decision at Tuscaloosa.

More recently, the tide is coming out of its first SEC game setback when it hit the then-No. 18/17 Missouri 68-65 last Saturday afternoon at the Mizzou Arena. Alabama lost by up to 22 points (58-36) with 13:05 left and 18 (64-44) at the 6:13 mark. However, Alabama attacked back and overcame the Tigers by 21-2 at 5:02 to make a 66-65 game with 1:11 remaining, but failed to complete the comeback.

Despite the setback, Tide still has a healthy advantage over the rest of the league. Playing the league’s third hardest schedule (according to KenPom.com) during the first 11 games of the conference season, Alabama is three games above Missouri (6-3 in the SEC) with seven games left.

The transmission

  • Tuesday’s game will be available on the SEC Network with Tom Hart (game by game) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the conference 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 (side line) in the call. The pre-game show will start an hour before launch.

Team Notes

  • According to Ken Pomeroy’s assessments, Alabama ranks second in the country in defensive efficiency when entering the competition in South Carolina. 114 in the category. Alabama is also 33rd in offensive efficiency, being one of the 13 teams in the country to rank in the top 35 in attack and defense.
  • Tuesday night’s competition in South Carolina will have a streak of 12 consecutive games against opponents ranked in the top 65 on KenPom.com’s standings. In fact, each of Crimson Tide’s next four opponents is ranked above 80 (South Carolina: 84, Georgia: 90, Texas A&M: 124, Vanderbilt: 130).
  • Crimson Tide grew its leadership mainly due to the effort on both the offensive and the defensive side. In SEC games only, the UA defense is the most efficient in the SEC, ranking first in percentage of field goal defense (0.375), percentage defense of three point field goal (0.251) and defensive rebounds (30.2 ), while occupying second place in steals (9.3) and fourth in defending scores (67.9). Offensively, the UA leads the league in offensive scoring (82.5), scoring margin (+14.5), throwing three points (0.396) and three shots per game (11.5), while taking fourth place in percentage of field shots (0.445).
  • Crimson Tide is ranked No. 8 in the NCAA NET ranking (from 2/8), which leads all SEC teams. Alabama is also designed by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi as runner-up in the 2021 NCAA tournament. Tide is one of five SEC teams ranked in the top 30, which also includes 10th position in Tennessee, 24th in Missouri, 29th in Arkansas and 30th in Florida. UA has a combined record of 10-4 against opponents Quad 1 (5-3) and Quad 2 (5-1).
  • Nationally, Alabama currently ranks third in the NCAA in three attempts at three points (591), fourth in three feats (210) and 10th in three feats per game (10.5) entering its competition in South Carolina Crimson Tide is also the third national in average possession in the attack (14.3) and the ninth in adjusted time (74.3 possession per game).
  • There are several factors to note that can decide the outcome during a game this season. Alabama has a 13-0 record in the year when hitting 40 percent or more in a game, it is 13-0 when it won at halftime and it has a 12-0 mark when it reaches at least 80 points in a competition.
  • John Petty Jr. became the all-time three-point leader at the school with five feats against Arkansas on January 16. He passed the old record of 263 that was maintained by Brian Williams (1996-99) and currently has 280 made three in his career. In addition, his 728 career attempts in the depths are 11 of breaking Williams’ program record of 738 three-point shots.

About Alabama

  • Alabama enters its competition in South Carolina at the top of the league standings with 10-1, three games ahead of Missouri (6-3). Most recently, Crimson Tide traveled to Columbia, Missouri to face Mizzou, where he fought to the end, almost made an unlikely comeback, before losing his first league competition, 68-65, last Saturday in Columbia, Missouri.
  • Four Crimson Tide players average 11.0 or more points per game for the head coach Nate Oats in the season. Guard Jaden Shackelford leads the way, averaging 13.9 ppg. Guard John Petty Jr. ranks second on the team with an average score of 13.1 ppg, followed by the striker Herbert Jones (11.9 ppg) and Jahvon Quinerly (11.2 ppg).
  • Jones, considered one of the SEC’s best defensive players and one of the 15 players across the country nominated for Naismith’s Defensive Player of the Year Watch List, leads the team in rebounds (6.0 rpg), steals (1.8 spg) , Blue Collar Points (410.5, 20.5 BCP per game), deflections (70), dives to the ground (15) and Hard Hat Awards (10), while taking second place in charges carried out (7) and blocked shots (1.0 bpg). He also has much better offensive numbers during his senior season. In addition to the double-digit average, Jones is receiving 2.7 assists per contest, while shooting 46.4 percent of the field (78 of 168) and leading the team in three-point shots (48.4 percent, 15 of 31 ) and free throws made (66) and tried (86).
  • The combination of Petty (49 of 122) and Shackelford (37 of 109) reached 86 of Tide’s 210 three-point points (40.9 percent) and 231 of the team’s total of 591 attempts beyond the arc (39.1 per percent). Combined, the pair is shooting 37.3 percent (86 of 231) from beyond the arc.
  • As a team, Alabama is overcoming the opposition by 10.0 points per contest (79.1-69.1), while shooting 43.1 percent from the field, 35.5 percent deep and 70.6 percent of the charity band.
  • It is Crimson Tide’s defense that set the tone for his quick start in the SEC game. The UA leads the league in defensive efficiency, ranking first in defense percentage (37.5%) and three points (25.1%), while ranking second in steals (9.3) and third in defense of goals (67.9).
  • This season, Tide welcomed four starters and five of their seven top scorers on the team last year, three of whom were named All-SEC performers a year ago. Petty (Second Team All-SEC), Shackelford (All-Freshman) and Jones (All-Defensive) earned a place on the postseason teams. Petty and Jones tested the waters of the NBA, 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 expected to finish fifth overall, as voted for by a select panel of SEC and national media members. In addition, the Petty All-SEC Preseason First Team was honored by coaches and members of the media, while Jones won a spot on the second preseason team voted by league coaches.
  • Head coach Nate Oats is in his second season in charge of the Crimson Tide program and has a record of 31-20 (0.608) during his time at Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a high school head coach, has a career record of 127-63 (0.668).

About South Carolina

  • South Carolina enters its competition against Alabama with a 5-7 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the SEC game. After defeating then-No. 22 Florida, 72-66, in Gainesville, Florida, Gamecocks returned home only to fall in the state of Mississippi 75-59 last Saturday. It was USC’s second conference loss at the Colonial Life Arena this season (lost to Auburn 109-86 on January 23.
  • Three South Carolina players have an average of double digits, led by the 17.3 points per game of guard AJ Lawson, who is fourth in the SEC. Lawson was even better in the league game, ranking third in the scoring average with 18.5 ppg. The junior guard also leads the team in three-point shots (33 of 91, 36.3 percent), steals (1.5 spg), minutes (30.9 mpg) and goals scored (71) and attempted (71) 162).
  • Striker Keyshawn Bryant (14.4 ppg) and playmaker Jermaine Couisnard (11.2 ppg) also scored on average double digits. Bryant leads USC in blocked kicks (12), ranks second in field goal percentage (0.504) and is third in rebounds (5.2 rpg), while Couisnard leads Gamecocks in assists (3.8 apg) and ranks second in steals (1.4 spg) and three feats (21) and attempts (73). Meanwhile, junior Justin Minaya is the team’s main rebound (6.7 rpg) and also contributes 7.8 points in a dispute.
  • As a team, Gamecocks have an average of 73.8 points and 37.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 42.5 percent off the field and 31.7 percent off the arc, however, they are in last place in the SEC and 315 in the country as a percentage of free throws with 64.2 percent. Defensively, the USC is giving up 75.5 points per game, while allowing opponents to shoot 44.7% off the ground and 34.2% beyond the arc. Gamecocks lead the SEC and occupy seventh place in the country in offensive rebounds, with 14.0 per game.
  • South Carolina is led by ninth-year coach Frank Martin. Martin, who led the Gamecocks for a Final Four race in 2017, has a record of 152-126 (0.547) during his tenure with the Gamecocks and is 269-180 (0.599) now in his 14th season as a head coach (spent five years) in the state of Kansas).

Alabama-South Carolina – Series Notes

  • Alabama and South Carolina will face each other for the 48th time overall, with Crimson Tide having a 31-16 lead in the series’ history.
  • Alabama won five consecutive games in the series entering Tuesday night’s showdown. The two teams played only once in the last season, with Crimson Tide making a 90-86 decision at Tuscaloosa. A complete recap and score for this contest can be found on the right.
  • Alabama enter the competition with five consecutive wins and seven of the last eight games played between the two teams. Tide has been even better at home, winning six consecutive wins against the USC at the Coleman Coliseum and having won 16 of the 18 games played at Tuscaloosa in the series.
  • Playing at the Colonial Life Arena, Crimson Tide has a record 7-12 overall, however, Alabama enters this year’s solitary competition, having won two consecutive games in Columbia, SC. The last time the two teams played on the USC court was on February 26, 2019 when UA scored a 68-62 victory. That game followed a memorable quadruple win in overtime, with Alabama winning a 90-86 victory on February 7, 2017.
  • The teams faced each other 18 times as opponents of the SEC, with the UA winning 24 of those meetings (24-14).
  • Fifteen of the last 19 games between the teams were decided by 10 or less points, including six losing to just one ball possession.

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