Alabama Closes Non-Conference Slate With Home Game vs. Oakland

The University of Alabama men’s basketball team will play its final non-conference game of the regular season when it hosts the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT at Coleman Coliseum.

The contest will be the second time in as many years that the Crimson Tide and Golden Grizzlies will meet on the hardwood. Last year, UA captured a 74-57 victory over Oakland in Tuscaloosa.

“Oakland is a very tough challenge to close out non-conference play,” UA head coach Anthony Grant said. “We played them last year, so we are a little familiar with them. They are a different team and have a lot of new guys on this year’s team. But the veterans are the guys who stand out. (Travis) Bader is one of the top three-point shooters in the country and comes into the game leading them in scoring. Their center inside (Corey Petros) is a guy who has really blossomed this year. He is second on the team in scoring and leads the team in rebounding. They have a lot of good veteran group of players around them, so we are going to have to do a good job on the defensive end.”

The Crimson Tide (7-5) comes into Saturday’s contest having lost five of its six games played in December, which includes three straight home defeats. Most recently, Alabama scored a season-low 50 points in a 53-50 loss to Tulane this past Sunday. Sophomores Nick Jacobs and Trevor Lacey led the Tide with 12 points apiece.

“As a team right now, I think the approach that we are trying to take is that this is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Grant said. “We have to maintain our focus in terms of what we are trying to do as a basketball team. I think our guys understand that. It’s not easy to go through this stretch. It’s tough on myself, it’s tough on our players, it’s tough on everybody to have the struggles that we are having. But you can’t rush the experience factor and development that our guys have to go through. We are excited about getting the chance to get back on the court tomorrow against Oakland.”

Alabama’s backcourt continues to lead the way this season. Junior guard Trevor Releford tops the team in points (15.4 ppg) and steals (2.0 spg). He is also one of the top three-point shooters (41.7 percent) and free throw shooters (86.7 percent) in the Southeastern Conference.

Lacey is second on the team in scoring with 13.3 points per game and leads the team with 3.3 assists a game. The Huntsville, Ala., native tops the Southeastern Conference in three-point field goal percentage (44.6) and ranks seventh in treys made per game (2.1).

Meanwhile, sophomore guard Rodney Cooper contributes 12.4 ppg and leads the team in rebounds per game (4.5) and total field goals made (54) and attempted (126).

Oakland comes into Saturday’s match-up sporting a 7-9 overall mark following its 91-79 win over Omaha on Thursday night. With the victory, the Golden Grizzlies have now won two straight games and three of their last four entering the contest at Alabama.

Junior guard Travis Bader leads Oakland with an average of 20.2 points per contest. He is considered one of the top three-point shooters in the nation, knocking down 65 treys in 16 games (4.1 made threes per game). In fact, of his 238 field goal attempts this season, 163 have come from beyond the arc.

Sophomore center Corey Petros (13.5 ppg) and junior guard Duke Mondy (12.1 ppg) also average double digits. Petros tops the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg) and field goal percentage (58.6), while Mondy leads his squad in assists (4.8 apg) and steals (3.1 spg).

Saturday’s match-up will be the second meeting between the two teams in series history. The game will be televised on CSS and can also be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network, with Chris Stewart and Bryan Passink on the call.