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Key goes through full practice, still game-time decision vs. Arizona

Alabama forward Braxton Key practice with the team on Friday. Photo | Alabama Athletics
Alabama forward Braxton Key practice with the team on Friday. Photo | Alabama Athletics

Alabama forward Braxton Key took yet another step toward recovery, participating in a full practice with full contact without showing any signs of limitations, head coach Avery Johnson said during a Friday teleconference.

Key underwent meniscus surgery in early November and has missed Alabama’s first nine games this season.

“He was able to make it through the entire practice,” Johnson said. “Obviously he’s not in the best shape, but we were happy to see him get through the entire practice without any setbacks. We’ll see how he recovers tomorrow. As I alluded to at the last press conference, he will be a game-time decision tomorrow.”

Key, 6-foot-8, 225 pounds, led Alabama in scoring during his freshman season averaging 12 points per game. He also finished second on the team with 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game en route to earning Freshman All-SEC honors.

While Key’s not quite back to full health, Alabama (7-2) can use all the help it can get as it faces its first true road test against Arizona (6-3) on Saturday at 9 p.m. CT inside the McKale Center in Tucson, Ariz. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

The Wildcats were ranked as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll earlier this season and feature two highly-regarded talents in freshman center DeAndre Ayton and junior guard Allonzo Trier.

Ayton is regarded as a future top-five pick in next year’s NBA draft and is averaging 19.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Trier leads Arizona in scoring with 22 points per game.

“That 1-2 punch is probably the best 1-2 punch we’ve seen all year,” Johnson said. “They’ve got an inside-out game and have a really good supporting cast.”

While Johnson did not rule out the possibility of Key playing Saturday, he did say “realistically, he’ll need some more work in practice” and stated that he should be ready to go for Alabama's next game against Mercer

Alabama plays Mercer on No. 19 at 8 p.m. CT inside the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Johnson also provided injury updates on freshmen Collin Sexton (eye), John Petty (ankle) and Herbert Jones, stating all three practice and should be fine for Saturday’s game against Arizona.

Going big

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Ayton, 7-foot-1, 255 pounds, is one of two 7-footers Arizona can put on the court. Senior Dusan Ristic, 7-foot, 245 pounds, is averaging 9.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Those two should present a big challenge to Alabama forwards Donta Hall, 6-foot-9, 232 pounds, and Daniel Giddens, 6-foot-11, 247 pounds.

Hall enters the game ranked second in the nation in field goal percentage making 75 percent (45 of 60) of his shots on the year. A good portion of those come from a team-high 23 dunks. The junior is averaging 11.9 points and a team-leading 7.6 rebounds per game.

Giddens is fresh of his pest performance of the season, scoring 12 points and tallying six rebounds in Alabama’s 68-64 victory over Rhode Island on Tuesday night. The sophomore transfer from Ohio State is averaging 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

“The main thing I like about Daniel was his passion on defense, the way he pursued the ball in transition,” Johnson said of Giddens’ game against Rhode Island. “He made one of the greatest blocks I’ve seen in a long time, running down a guard down the floor. His patience in the low post, his passing ability when he got double teamed. That was a step in the right direction for him, and hopefully that will continue to build his confidence going into a game with a frontcourt that’s as tough and talented like Arizona’s.”

While Alabama will be relying on Hall and Giddens to do most of the work inside, Johnson was quick to not discredit the potential impact of freshmen Alex Rees and Galin Smith. Reese, 6-foot-9, 250 pounds is averaging 3.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while Smith, 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, is averaging 3.1 points and 2.6 rebounds.

“It’s all hands on deck, it’s not just Daniel and Donta,” Johnson said. “Alex Reese gets some minutes, or Galin gets some minutes. Those guys really weren’t in the rotation much in the last game... we may need to go to that next third big playing against Ayton and Ristic and [Keanu] Pinder, Ira Lee. All four of those guys see quality minutes for Arizona and are physical and big. They take up a lot of space.

“We’ve got to be a threat on the offensive end. Our bigs have to get to their spots. We have to have the proper spacing. We have to finish inside, and we have to do a better job of playing post defense.”

Scouting Alabama 

— Alabama improved to 7-2 on the young season following a narrow 68-64 victory over Rhode Island on Wednesday night. With the win, the Tide improves to 5-1 at home as it heads into its first true road contest of the year on Saturday at Arizona.

— Through its nine contests, the Tide is averaging 79.0 points per game and outscoring the opposition by 9.2 points per contest (79.0-69.8). As a team, Alabama is connecting on 50.1 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Tide also owns a +2.4 rebounding advantage (38.4-36.0). Additionally, Alabama tops the SEC and ranks ninth in the nation in blocked shots per game (6.4).

— Defensively, Alabama is allowing opponents to shoot 40.6 percent from the field and 32.2 percent from deep. In addition, the Tide is second in the SEC with 6.4 blocks per game, while also averaging 6.6 steals a contest. Despite struggling at the foul line this season (shooting 63.0 percent on the year), the Tide leads the league and 11th nationally in free throws attempted (246) and is second in the SEC and 55th nationally in free throws made (155).

— Four players are averaging double-figure scoring for the Tide, led by freshman Collin Sexton’s 20.8 ppg. Sexton also tops Alabama in assists (3.5 apg) and field goals made (50) and attempted (104). Freshman John Petty ranks second on the team with 12.2 ppg and tops UA in threes made (25) and attempted (67), while his 2.8 treys made per game is fifth-best in the SEC.

Scouting Arizona 


— Alabama and Arizona will square off for the third time in series history, but it will be the first time the two storied programs will meet in the regular season. Each of the previous two contests took place on neutral sites in the NCAA Tournament, both of which were won by Alabama. The Tide captured a 50-41 win in the first round of the 1985 NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M. In the last meeting between the schools, Alabama captured a 77-55 win in the second round of the 1990 tournament in Long Beach, Calif.

— Arizona enters the contest having won three straight games, most recently capturing a 67-64 upset over No. 7 Texas A&M in Phoenix on Tuesday night. Texas A&M was within one, 63-62, with 17 seconds left. However, Arizona sunk all four free throws down the stretch to claim the win.

— Junior Allonzo Trier leads the Wildcats with 22.0 points per game, while also topping the team in threes made (18) and attempted (49) and minutes played (33.3 mpg). Freshman Deandre Ayton, who finished with 13 points and 10 boards against the Aggies, averages a double-double with 19.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per contest. Senior point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright leads the Wildcats with 5.0 assists and 1.8 assists, while averaging 8.3 points a game.

— As a team, Arizona is outscoring the competition by 10.6 points per game (83.6-73.0) and outrebounding opponents by 5.8 rebounds a contest (36.4-30.7). The Wildcats shoot 51.3 percent from the floor as a team and 37.0 percent from beyond the arc, while also connecting on 75.9 percent from the charity stripe.

— Arizona, a preseason No. 3-ranked team, was chosen the favorite to win the 2017-18 Pac-12 Conference men’s basketball title in a vote of media members who cover the league. The Wildcats, who were ranked preseason No. 1 by Athlon, Blue Ribbon Sports and Street & Smith’s preseason publications, was a near-unanimous Conference favorite, receiving 22 of 23 first-place votes. The Wildcats return three starters including 2017 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player Allonzo Trier from last year’s Pac-12 regular-season co-champion and Pac-12 Tournament title team.

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