Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Alabama Hosts Charleston Southern; Antibahs Kosgei Named 2015 Men's South Region Athlete Of The Year; Alabama Remains No. 2 In CFP Rankings; Dayton Defeats Tide 80-48 In Basketball Yesterday


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Alabama Hosts Charleston Southern
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Saturday Is Senior Day For The Crimson Tide

Photo Credit: RollTide.com


     The University of Alabama is preparing for their football matchup with Charleston Southern this Saturday. The Crimson Tide worked out for approximately two hours in full pads on a warm and breezy afternoon yesterday at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields.

     This Saturday is also know as the annual Senior Day since this is the final home game of 2015 for the Alabama football team. Seniors on the squad will be honored.

     Alabama head coach Nick Saban had warned in his Monday press conference that the Tide would face some things this Saturday they haven't faced this season. The biggest adjustment the Alabama defense will have to make is to cover the triple-option. Charleston Southern boasts a 9-1 record this season and is ranked ninth in the Football Championship Subdivision.

     Charleston Southern head coach Jamey Chadwell said, "We're going to go down there like we do for every game and expect to win and go out and play our very best, hopefully play our best. We understand that if they play their worst and we play our best, it still might not matter."

     Reuben Foster worked out yesterday with his right wrist heavily wrapped. He suffered the injury in the game with Mississippi State this past Saturday.

     Minkah Fitzpatrick did not practice. He was injured Saturday and left the game with a sprained knee.

     Of course running back Kenyan Drake did not practice. He suffered a fractured arm in the State game. He is expected to miss from two to three weeks. Drake posted on his Instagram account, "I won't blink in the face of adversity."

     The Crimson Tide closes out its 2015 home schedule this Saturday when Bama hosts Charleston Southern at Bryant-Denny Stadium this Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The SEC Network is broadcasting  the game live. Dave Neal, Matt Stinchcomb and Kayce Smith will be handling play-by-play, color analysis and sideline reporting.


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Men's Cross Country

Antibahs Kosgei Is Named 
2015 Men's South Region Athlete Of The Year


Antibahs Kosgei
Photo Credit: RollTide.com

     Antibahs Kosgei has received another honor. The University of Alabama cross country junior has been selected at the 2015 Men's South Region Athlete of the Year. The honor was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Kosgei is only one of two Alabama runners to receive this honor. The other was David Kimani, three-time South Region Athlete of the Year from 2000 to 2002.

    Kosgei, a native of Eldoret, Kenya, advanced to the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships by virtue of his performance in the NCAA South Region Championship. The national meet is to be held this Saturday in Louisville, Kentucky. The men's 10k race is scheduled to begin at noon CT.

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Alabama Remains No. 2 In College Football Playoff Rankings

     Here is a look at the College Football Playoff rankings last night. There was no change in the top 5 in this week's poll. The Southeastern Conference had four teams in the top 25, with ALABAMA the highest ranked at number two. Following Bama from the SEC is Florida (8), LSU (15) and Ole Miss (22).


1    Clemson
2    ALABAMA
3    Ohio State
4    Notre Dame
5    Iowa
6    Oklahoma State
7    Oklahoma
8    Florida
9    Michigan State
10  Baylor
11  Stanford
12  Michigan
13  Utah
14  Florida State
15  LSU
16  Navy
17  North Carolina
18  TCU
19  Houston
20  Northwestern
21  Memphis
22  Ole Miss
23  Oregon
24  USC
25  Wisconsin

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Alabama Men's Basketball Falls 80-48



     The University of Alabama men's basketball team and head coach Avery Johnson dropped their first game of the season yesterday afternoon. This was the first road trip of 2015-16 for the Tide, falling 80-48 to the Dayton Flyers at UD Arena. Bama now falls to 1-1 on the season while Dayton improves to 2-0.

      Coach Johnson commented following the game, "Their defense deserves a lot of credit. We had tough shots every trip down the court, and we had a difficult time scoring. We started to have silly turnovers and were having a hard time getting shots at the basket. We struggled with unforced errors. Give Dayton credit, they capitalized off of those. We knew this would be a tough environment to play in. Dayton is a veteran, well-oiled machine, and we ran into the buzzsaw today (yesterday).”

     Alabama's only lead of the game was 18-16 with ten minutes remaining in the first half. After that, the Dayton Flyers took control. By the time half time arrived Dayton led 40-24. Dayton was perfect from the foul line in the first half, hitting 9-of-9. They shot 41 percent from the field with five of those 3-pointers. The Crimson Tide didn't help themselves shooting just 30 percent from the floor and committing 10 turnovers.

     The second half didn't work out any better for the Tide. Bama made only eight total field goals in the second half and turned the ball over 10 more times. 

     Overall Dayton was 46.7 percent on shooting, including hitting nine of 21 three-pointers. They also led in rebounds with 47. Alabama was only 29.8 percent in shooting efficiency and snagged 34 rebounds.

     Alabama hosts Louisiana-Lafayette at Coleman Coliseum this Friday, November 20th. Start time is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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