Alabama basketball is coming off of back-to-back double-digit victories and will look to continue its winning ways as it travels to Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday to take on a Vanderbilt team still looking for its first SEC win. While the Crimson Tide (10-7, 3-2 in the SEC) heads into the matchup playing its best basketball of the season, the Commodores (8-9, 1-4) are currently in the midst of a five-game losing streak and will be without forward Aaron Nesmith who leads the SEC with 23.0 points per game. Here’s all the information you need to know about the game.
How to watch
Who: Alabama (10-7, 3-2) vs. Vanderbilt (8-9. 0-4)
When: 8:00 p.m. CT, Wednesday, Jan. 22
Where: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, Tenn.
Watch: SEC Network (play-by-blay: Roy Philpott; analyst: Mark Wise)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink)
Alabama projected starting five
Kira Lewis Jr.: 6-foot-3, 165 pounds, sophomore
Stats: 16.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.6 apg, 43.0% FG, 31.6% 3-pt
Jaden Shackelford: 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, freshman
Stats: 12.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 37.7% FG, 32.1% 3-pt
John Petty Jr.: 6-foot-5, 184 pounds, junior
Stats: 16.3 ppg., 7.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 47.6% FG, 47.5% 3-pt
Herbert Jones: 6-foot-7, 205 pounds, junior
Stats: 10.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.7 apg, 48.4% FG, 9.1% 3-pt
Alex Reese: 6-foot-9, 245 pounds, junior
Stats: 9.6 ppg, 4.8, rpg, 1.2 apg, 44.0% FG, 36.5% 3-pt
Vanderbilt projected starting five
Maxwell Evans: 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, junior
Stats: 7.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 44.2% FG, 34.6% 3-pt
Scotty Pippen Jr.: 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, freshman
Stats: 11.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 4.3 apg, 38.8% FG, 32.6% 3-pt
Braelee Albert: 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, freshman
Stats: 1.8 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 25.0% FG, 33.3% 3-pt
Dylan Disu: 6-foot-9, 220 pounds, freshman
Stats: 5.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.0 apg, 31.0% FG, 27.0% 3-pt
Ejike Obinna: 6-foot-10, 243 pounds, redshirt sophomore
Stats: 3.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 56.5% FG
Game notes
— Things aren’t going well for Vanderbilt. Not only do the Commodores enter Wednesday’s matchup with a five-game losing streak, but they also saw their run of 1,080 consecutive games of making at least one 3-pointer come to an end over the weekend. Vanderbilt was 0-for-25 from beyond the arc during its 66-45 loss to Tennessee. Even after the dismal performance, the Commodores rank No. 2 in the SEC, shooting 34.7 percent from beyond the arc. Alabama leads the conference making 35.8 percent of its 3-point attempts.
— A lot of Vanderbilt’s shooting struggles stem from the loss of forward Aaron Nesmith, who suffered a season-ending foot injury earlier this month. Nesmith leads the SEC in scoring (23 points per game), 3-point percentage (52.2) and 3s made per game (4.3).
— Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium has not been a welcoming place for Alabama basketball throughout the years. Last season, the Crimson Tide notched a rare road victory against the Commodores. The win was Alabama’s second in Memorial since 1990. The Crimson Tide has gone 2-14 over that span.
— After battling through an elbow injury earlier this season, Alabama forward Herbert Jones is finally starting to find his groove on the court. The junior recorded double-doubles in his past two games and is the Crimson Tide’s leader in blue-collar points with 358.5 on the season. Jones is averaging 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and is shooting 52.4 percent from the floor over his past seven games.
— Alabama attempted a season-high 39 3-pointers against Missouri, hitting on 13 of them. Through 17 games, the Crimson Tide leads the SEC in 3s attempted (500) and 3s made (179). Alabama is on pace to shatter its single-season record in both categories. In 2015-6 the Crimson Tide set school records with 763 3-point attempts and 259 made 3s.
— Alabama forward Alex Reese has made seven combined 3s in his last two games after recording a combined six over his five previous games. The junior is averaging 1.8 made 3s per game and is shooting 36.5 percent from beyond the arc this season.
— After averaging 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in December, Alabama forward Javian Davis has had a month to forget in January. Since the start of SEC play, the redshirt freshman is averaging just 2.2 points and 3.0 rebounds over five games.
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