Tigers Basketball Preview: Alabama

Friday, November 10

Annapolis, Md.

5:30 PM

University of Memphis

#25 Alabama

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Nov 09, 2017 | Men's Basketball

Memphis Basketball Game Notes Alabama Basketball Notes

Memphis to face Crimson Tide in Veterans Classic Friday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The start of each college basketball season is special, but it may be even more so for the University of Memphis this weekend when it faces No. 25 Alabama.

First, the Tigers have the extreme honor of playing in the 2017 Veterans Classic at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Veterans Day weekend. Several Tigers staff and players have had relatives that served in the military, including head coach Tubby Smith's father. Guffrie Smith, a Purple Heart recipient, served in the U.S. Army and was a World War II veteran.

In addition to playing in a classic to honor the nation's veterans, Memphis' trip also takes Smith back to his home state of Maryland. Smith was born in Scotland, Md., which is about a two-hour drive from Annapolis. This is only the second trip in Smith's coaching career in which he has taken one of his teams to his home state. In 1999-2000, Smith's Kentucky squad played the Maryland Terrapins in College Park.

Quick Game Facts

Opponent	#25 Alabama
Day/Date	Friday, Nov. 10
Time	5:30 p.m. (CT)
Site	Annapolis, Md./Alumni Hall, U.S. Naval Academy
Television	CBS Sports Network
Radio (Flagship)	600 WREC AM/Rock 103 (102.7 FM)

Head coach Tubby Smith
"Alabama brought in an excellent recruiting class, but I know they probably feel a lot like we do with Friday being the first game of the year. I know they've had some injuries. We're excited to go to Annapolis and the Naval Academy to play in the Veterans Classic. It's an honor and privilege to play in this special event."

(On Alabama possibly playing without some players)
"We'll prepare the same way with our scouting reports. We have to do some things better, and that's the most important thing as we start the season. We have a lot to improve on. We had a scrimmage and an exhibition, and both showed us areas where we need improvement like rebounding and taking care of the ball. In our exhibition game versus LeMoyne-Owen, some areas where we need improvement were exposed, but we did play well in terms of sharing the ball. And we're going to have to share the ball to be successful against a very good team in Alabama."

Tigers Tidbits/Five Notes To Know

Friday's match-up is the eighth meeting between Memphis and Alabama on the hardwood, but the first encounter since November of 2005. Memphis holds a 5-2 series lead. The Tigers won the last match-up, an 87-76 victory in Tuscaloosa, Ala. That game was a quarterfinal showdown in the 2005 Preseason NIT, and with the win, Memphis advanced to play in the tournament's final four at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. The last Alabama win in the series was an 81-70 victory in the 2001 Guardians Classic in Kansas City, Mo.
Just to back up how young the Tigers are in 2017-18, the team returns only 22.4 percent of its points, 17.9 percent of its rebounds and 28.3 percent of its minutes played from the 2016-17 squad.
The Tigers enter 2017-18 with 11 players that are playing their first seasons at the NCAA Division I level. That number, though, can increase by two more when one factors in those players that will see game action for the first time as a Tiger in 2017-18. In addition to the five junior college transfers, three freshmen and one transfer, senior Kytrel Williams and sophomore Karim Sameh Azab also could see their first action this season as both never played in 2016-17. So, of the Tigers' 16 players on the roster, 13 will see their first game action wearing the Blue and Gray this season.
It's son versus father Friday. Well, not exactly. It's more like son versus the father's alma mater. Jamal Johnson, who is from Birmingham, Ala., is a freshman on the Memphis squad in 2017-18. Jamal's father is Buck Johnson, a former Crimson Tide standout in the 1980s. Buck played for Alabama head coach Wimp Sanderson and was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) performer for the Crimson Tide. Buck scored over 1,800 points and grabbed nearly 1,000 boards in his collegiate career.
To take the "young" theme further, the Tigers are tied for first in the nation with the fewest number of letterwinners returning from 2016-17. Memphis has two lettermen returning in 2017-18 and is tied with James Madison and Mississippi Valley State for the fewest. Also, Memphis ranks sixth among the NCAA Division I programs with the most newcomers (8) and ninth in fewest returning minutes (1,825) this season.