Can you say bombs away?
While the No. 18 Alabama Crimson Tide may have had a statement game against Michigan State in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon, No. 20 Connecticut shot out the lights to also advance and field a top-20 matchup in the Semifinals on Friday.
Notably, senior guard Tristen Newton led the Huskies to a school record 17 3-pointers as they drove past one of the local teams, Oregon, in an 83-59 win.
In case you’re wondering, the NCAA Division I record for 3-point field goals by both teams in a single game is 44 (Troy, who scored 28 against George Mason on December 10, 1994) and the record for total attempts out same game is 108 (74 by Troy).
Just in case.
Here’s how you see Alabama vs. Connecticut
who: Alabama (5-0) vs. Connecticut (6-0)
When: 8:30 p.m.,. CT, Friday
Where: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Ore.
TV: ESPN
Live broadcast: fuboTV (start free trial)
radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-by-Play: Roger Hoover, Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show starts an hour before the tip.
Series: UConn leads 1-0.
Phil Knight invitation preview
tournament bracket: The winning team will advance to Sunday’s championship game against the No. 1 North Carolina winner against Iowa State. The defeated teams also face each other.
Last meeting: The only meeting between the programs was in the Elite 8 of the 2004 NCAA tournament. Alabama, second in the region, lost 87-71 in Phoenix, Ariz.
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Last time, Alabama: The Crimson Tide had a strong opening game in the Phil Knight Invitational, beating No. 12 Michigan State 81-70. Brandon Miller had 24 points to lead Alabama while Noah Gurley and Noah Clowney both had 12 and respectively. In his third return game, guard Jahvon Quinerly seemed comfortable on offense and finished the season with 10 points.
Last time, UConn: Oregon was without guards Brennan Rigsby, Jermaine Cousinard and Keeshawn Barthelemy, but the Huskies showed no mercy en route to an 83-59 win in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational.
Newton finished the season with a season-high 23 points, hitting a total of 7 of 10 from the floor and adding 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in an impressive all-around performance.
Newton had plenty of support as sophomore Jordan Hawkins added 18 points including 5 three-pointers, junior Adama Sanogo 12 points including 2 three-pointers, and graduate Joey Calcaterra 11 points with 3 three-pointers scored
This story will be updated.
Photo gallery:
Hints you need to know
- The Crimson Tide are 6-0 for the first time since 2017/18.
- Brandon Miller was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday.
- Alabama entered the tournament leading the nation in rebounds per game (56.0), offensive rebounds per game (19.5), and rebound margin (24.5).
- Alabama’s newcomers have scored 294 of the Tide’s 339 points this season.
- Noah Clowney is ranked No. 21 in the country at averaging 10.5 rebounds per game and ranked No. 1 in the SEC. Charles Bediako is the No. 19 with a 4.0 offensive rebound average.
- Alabama had 44 3-pointers in their first four games, the most under Nate Oats.
- The Crimson Tide averaged 11 3-pointers per game, ranking 14th in Division I.
- Alabama welcomed the highest-ranking recruiting class in the program’s history, including McDonald’s High School All-Americans Jaden Bradley and Miller, and four-star nominees Clowney and Rylan Griffen.
- The Tide is one of only seven schools (Arizona, Creighton, Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA) to have a player on the watchlists of Bob Cousy, Julius Erving and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar this preseason.
About UConn:
- Junior Adama Sanogo leads the Huskies in scores (19.8) and rebounds (7.7), while Newton (13.2), sophomore Jordan Hawkins (12.3) and redshirt freshman Alex Karaban (10.2 ) are also two-digit. Junior Andre Jackson Jr. hands out the most assists (4.7).
- UConn Coach Dan Hurley is in his fifth season at the helm of the Huskies with an overall coaching record of 230-152 (.602) over 12 seasons (two at Wagner College, six at Rhode Island and four plus at UConn). . He is 79-47 (.627), has led four teams to the NCAA tournament, and is a past Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year.
- Ten years ago, Dan Hurley recruited EC Matthews from Michigan’s Romulus High School to Rhode Island, where Alabama head coach Nate Oats was head coach.
- Junior Adama Sanogo was voted Big East Preseason Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches. Sanogo was an All-Big East First Team selection at the end of last season. Sanogo became the seventh UConn player to win the preseason, along with Corny Thompson (1981), Donyell Marshall (1993), Richard Hamilton (1998), Khalid El-Amin (1999), Emeka Okafor (2003), and Rudy Gay (2005). honor won. .
Invitation from Phil Knight
Invitation from Phil Knight
See also:
Brandon Miller shines on the big stage
No. 18 Alabama Basketball makes statement with 81-70 win over No. 12 Michigan State
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