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Alabama Squares Off Against Maryland Monday Night with an Eye on the Sweet 16

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Basketball

The Alabama men's basketball team, the No. 2 seed in the East Region and No. 5 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, advanced to the Round of 32 and will face off with No. 10 seed Maryland on Monday inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

The contest will tip off at 7:45 p.m. CT (8:45 p.m. ET) and be televised on TNT.

The Broadcast

  • Monday's game will be available on TNT with Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst) and Allie LaForce (sideline) 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

NCAA Tournament Second Round Notes

  • UA won its seventh straight contest and 10th victory in its last 11 games with a 68-55 victory over No. 15 seed Iona on Saturday night inside Hinkle Fieldhouse. The victory gave Alabama its 25th win on the season, which are the most since the 2010-11 squad finished 25-12 overall. The school record for wins in a season is 27, set by the 2001-02 team.
  • With the win, the Crimson Tide improved to 20-20 (.500) overall in what is the 21st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Alabama has advanced to the Sweet 16 seven times and the Elite Eight once (2004). A win Monday would send the Tide to its first Sweet 16 since 2004.
  • Monday's matchup will mark the fifth time Alabama and Maryland have squared off in series history and the first time since the 2013 NIT quarterfinals on March 26, 2013 in Tuscaloosa. In what was the only postseason meeting between the teams in series history, the Terrapins captured a 58-57 victory and improved to 4-1 all-time against the Tide.
  • Maryland forward Galin Smith played three seasons at Alabama before departing as a graduate transfer last summer. The Clinton, Miss., native played in 94 games and made 20 starts across his three years at the Capstone, averaging 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 56.4 percent from the field.

Team Notes

  • UA has made an NCAA-leading 325 threes this season and is just 10 made treys away from breaking the school record of 334 three-pointers in a season, which was set just a year ago
  • Alabama boasts four seniors who have played more than 100 games. John Petty Jr. leads all players with 129 games played, followed by Herbert Jones (127), Alex Reese (122) and Jordan Bruner (105).
  • Alabama ranks No. 1 in the Ken Pomeroy defensive efficiency ratings (as of 3/21). Last year, the Tide was rated by the same site at No. 114 in the category. The Tide also ranks No. 36 in offensive efficiency making UA one of just four teams in the nation to have a top-40 offense and a top-10 defense.
  • Alabama earned the program's second No. 2 seed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament which matches the highest seed in program history. Both the 1987 (Sweet 16, 2-1) and 2002 (Round of 32, 1-1) teams were also No. 2 overall seeds. Following its victory over Iona, the Tide owns an all-time record of 3-3 as a No. 2 seed.
  • The Crimson Tide has won seven straight to improve to an overall mark of 25-6. It's the most wins since finishing 25-12 in 2010-11. The program record for wins in a season is 27, set by the 2001-02 team. Meanwhile, Alabama's 16 SEC wins (16-2) matched the 1986-87 team for most league victories in a season in program history.
  • Alabama leads the nation in three-point field goals made (325) and attempted (928) (as of March 21) and is fourth in threes made per game (10.5). Furthermore, the Tide is also third nationally in average possession length on offense (14.1) and ninth in the nation in adjusted tempo (73.5 possessions per game).
  • Alabama remained in the national rankings, moving up at No. 5 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top-25 Polls. It's the first time the Tide has been ranked in the AP Poll top five since December of 2004. In fact, the last time UA was ranked inside the AP Top Five during the Famed Rocket 8 team that finished No. 5 in the AP Poll.
  • Alabama captured the 2021 Southeastern Conference Tournament championship with a 80-79 victory over LSU in Sunday's title game. It marks the seventh SEC Tournament trophy in Crimson Tide history and the first in 30 years, dating back to 1991. Combined with winning the program's eighth SEC regular-season title, the Tide has now claimed a combined 15 SEC Championships in school history. The Tide owns a record of 70-53 (.569) in all-time SEC Tournament games, ranking second in tournament winning percentage and third in total tournament wins.

About Alabama

  • Alabama continues postseason play ranked No. 5 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls. The Crimson Tide enters the NCAA Tournament second round riding a seven-game winning streak to improve to 25-6 overall after finishing league play with a 16-2 mark. Alabama won both the regular season and tournament championships, claiming its eighth regular season conference championship in program history and seventh SEC tournament title.
  • The Crimson Tide is the No. 2 seed in the East Region and the tournament's No. 5 overall seed. Following its win over Iona Saturday, Alabama owns a record of 3-3 as a No. 2 seed, going 2-1 before falling in the 1987 Sweet 16 and 1-1 in 2002 before bowing out in the second round.
  • The Tide has gone 19-3 over its last 22 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 (66-61) and at then-No. 18 Missouri by three (68-65).
  • Four Crimson Tide players are averaging 11.5 or more points per game for head coach Nate Oats on the season. Guard Jaden Shackelford leads the way, averaging 14.1 ppg. Guard Jahvon Quinerly ranks second on the team in scoring average at 12.6 ppg, followed by guard John Petty Jr. (12.2 ppg) and forward Herbert Jones (11.5 ppg).
  • Jones headlined the SEC Postseason awards, earning Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors,, while also earning a spot on the Sporting News All-America Team. Oats was selected as the Coach of the Year, while Petty, Shackelford an Joshua Primo each earned All-SEC recognition by various outlets. A complete list of the post season awards can be found on page 6.
  • Both Jones and Oats are semifinalists for Naismith Awards. Jones is a semifinalist for both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year honors. He is one of just two players in the nation to have earned a spot on both teams (Evan Mobley, USC). Meanwhile, Oats is one of four coaches named as a finalist for both the Naismith and USBWA National Coach of the Year.
  • The combination of Petty (71-of-192) and Shackelford (58-of-174) have combined to hit 129 of the Tide's 325 three-pointers (40.0 percent) and have 366 of the team's 928 total attempts from beyond the arc (39.0 percent). Combined, the duo is shooting 35.7 percent (129-of-366) from beyond the arc.
  • As a team, Alabama is outscoring the opposition by 9.9 points per contest (79.2-69.3) while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 35.0 percent from deep and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe.
  • Alabama was picked to finish fifth 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 41-21 (.661) during his time at the Capstone. Oats, who is in his sixth season as a collegiate head coach, owns a career record of 137-64 (.682).

About Maryland

  • Maryland enters the second round of this year's NCAA Tournament sporting a record of 17-13 overall and finished eighth in Big Ten (9-11). The Terrapins, making their 29th tournament appearance in program history, advanced to the second round of this year's event by defeating No. 7 seed UConn 63-54 on Saturday night. Maryland's defense proved too tough to break as the Terps held the Huskies to just 32 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent from deep.
  • Honorable Mention All-Big 10 guard Eric Ayala scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 from deep. He led the team with three steals and was among three Terps with five rebounds. Aaron Wiggins added 14 points and Donta Scott 12 for Maryland, which shot 51.2 percent (22-of-43) from the field and 50 percent (9-of-18) from beyond the arc.
  • It was just the second win in the last five contests for Maryland which includes splitting its two Big Ten Tournament contest, defeating Michigan State (68-57) before falling to top-seed Michigan (79-66). Prior to the recent five game stretch, the Terrapins had won a season-best five-straight games to result in a 7-3 record over its last 10 games.
  • Ayala leads the Terps with 15.2 points per game in his 33.6 minutes per game average. He also leads his team in threes made (55), threes attempted (160) and free throw shooting (102-of-122, .836). He is one of three players to average in double digits as Wiggins (14.0 ppg) and Scott (10.9 ppg) also contribute on the offensive end. Scott leads Maryland in rebounding (6.1) and Wiggins is the team leader in field goals made (154) and attempted (353) while ranking second in threes made (52) and attempted (152).
  • As a team, The Terrapins are outscoring the competition by 4.0 points a contest (68.6-64.6), while shooting 45.7 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and 70.2 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, Maryland limits the opposition to 40.6 percent from the floor and 33.9 percent from deep. The Terps are being outrebounded by an average of 0.6 boards per game (33.1-33.7).
  • Head coach Mark Turgeon is in his 10th season at the helm of Maryland's program, most recently leading the Terrapins to the 2020 Big Ten Championship. He has recorded winning seasons in all 10 years with five NCAA Tournament appearances. He enters Monday night's contest sporting a 221-112 (.664) record at Maryland and is 471-271 (.635) across his 23 career years as a collegiate head coach.