TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second time in a 20-day span, No. 8/10 Alabama will face the No. 1 team in the country as the Tide travel to face Houston. The Crimson Tide and the Cougars will meet for the second straight season as the Tide defeated Houston last season (83-82) at Coleman Coliseum. This is the 12th time in program history the Tide have faced the No 1 team in the country as the matchup features two of the top rebounding teams in the country as the Tide rank No. 1 in offensive rebounds per game (16.8) and Houston ranks No. 14 (14.0).
The Broadcast
Saturday’s game will be aired on ABC with Dan Shulman (play-by-play) and Jay Bilas (analyst) on the call.
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.
Notes You Need To Know
- Alabama is playing an AP Top 10 matchup for the first time since 2002 (No. 8 Alabama defeated No. 3 Oklahoma in New York) when Kelvin Sampson was the head coach at Oklahoma.
- Alabama is playing the No. 1 team in the AP Poll, while also being ranked in the top 10, for the first time since 1976 (No. 1 Indiana defeated No. 6 Alabama in the NCAA Tournament).
- Alabama head coach Nate Oats has won four straight games when playing a team who played in the previous year’s Final Four (3-0 last year, 1-0 this year).
- Alabama is 4-7 all-time against the No. 1 team in the country, most recently defeating No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 27 at the Phil Knight Invitational.
- For the first time in program history, Alabama has two top 25 wins during non-conference play in back-to-back seasons.
- Brandon Miller is averaging 19.1 points per game, the most by any freshman in the country and No. 42 overall.
- Miller is the only freshman in the country to rank in the top 50 in points per game (No. 42) and rebounds per game (No. 50).
- Miller is averaging 3.38 three-pointers per game, which ranks No. 17 in the country.
- Alabama is the only school in Division I to have two freshmen rank in the top 90 in rebounds per game, as Miller ranks No. 50 (8.9 rpg) and Noah Clowney ranks No. 86 (8.0 rpg).
- Alabama ranks No. 1 in the country in rebounds per game (50.3), defensive rebounds per game (33.5), offensive rebounds per game (16.8) and No. 2 in rebound margin…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Alabama Athletics…