Bama Men's Basketball Falls To Arkansas; Crimson Tide Football Again No. 1 In National Recruiting Wars; Bama Fares Well In Regional Track & Field Rankings; Softball's Alexis Osorio Named To Watch List; Tide Gymnastics To Host Power Of Pink Meet

Alabama Men's Basketball Falls To Arkansas

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas - Despite having three players score in double-figures on Wednesday night, the University of Alabama men's basketball team fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks 87-68 at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Crimson Tide now falls to an overall 13-8 mark and a 6-3 slate in the Southeastern Conference. Arkansas improved to 17-5. 9-5 SEC.

Bama men's basketball head coach Avery Johnson said, "From the jump, Arkansas dominated us today. They came ready to play and were in bounce-back mode after their last loss. They started off with a wide-open three and basically set the tone for the entire game. We didn't do a good job against their pressure, even when it was single coverage in full court pressure. This game is not indicative of our team or season, but give them credit. This was a different team than what we saw on Saturday."

The Crimson Tide's three main scorers for the contest were freshman Dazon Ingram with 14 points, freshman Braxton Key with 12 points and junior Ar'Mond Davis scoring 10 in the contest. The leading scorer for Arkansas was Dusty Hannahs with 19.

Bama shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field, while hitting 6-of-18 (.333) from behind the three-point line. In comparison, Arkansas was able to connect on 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the floor and 47.1 percent (11-of-23) from three-point land.  Turnovers played a big part in the game as Alabama committed 18, resulting in a whopping 28-7 Arkansas advantage in points-off-turnovers.


Alabama will host in-state rival Auburn this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Team Statistics

Game Stats	UA	AR
FG%	.396	.492
3FG%	.333	.478
FT%	.800	.621
RB	36	32
TO	18	11
STL	4	11

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

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Crimson Tide Football Once Again Finishes With

Number One Recruiting Class In The Nation

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The University of Alabama football program  announced that 14 student-athletes have signed national letters of intent to play football with the Crimson Tide. These 14 join another 12 players who enrolled at The Capstone in January and will be able to compete in spring practice later this semester. Other players committed to Bama, though signing would put the school over the limit. Gray shirting and other options are being looked into.

These 26 total student-athletes hail from eight different states – Alabama (7), Florida (5), Louisiana (5), Texas (4), California (2), Hawai'i (1), Georgia (1) and Kentucky (1). The Crimson Tide has added four offensive linemen, four linebackers, four wide receivers, three defensive linemen, three defensive backs, two quarterbacks, two running backs, two tight ends and one athlete.

Here is a breakdown of the 26 players:

• 12 five-star prospects (at least one of the following: 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN & Scout): Elliot Baker, Isaiah Buggs, VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Dylan Moses, LaBryan Ray, Henry Ruggs III, Devonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Jedrick Wills
• 13 four-star prospects (at least one of the following: 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN & Scout: Chris Allen, Markail Benton, Kedrick James, Mac Jones, Phil Mathis, Kyriq McDonald, Xavier McKinney, Kendall Randolph, Brian Robinson, Tyrell Shavers, Major Tennison, Chadarius Townsend, Daniel Wright
• 10 players participated in the Under Armour All-America Game – Chris Allen, Markail Benton, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Phil Mathis, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, LaBryan Ray, Jedrick Wills, Daniel Wright
• 5 players participated in the U.S. Army All-America Bowl – Najee Harris, Kendall Randolph, Henry Ruggs III, Devonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa
• 3 members of the 2016 Parade All-America Football Team – Najee Harris, Alex Leatherwood, Dylan Moses
• 4 members of USA Today's 2016 All-USA High School Football Team – Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Dylan Moses
• 21 players in the ESPN300 – Chris Allen, Markail Benton, VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Kedrick James, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Phil Mathis, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, Kendall Randolph, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, Henry Ruggs III, Tyrell Shavers, Devonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Major Tennison, Chadarius Townsend, Jedrick Wills, Daniel Wright
• 11 players in the Rivals100 – VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, DeVonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Jedrick Wills
• 20 players in the Rivals250 – Chris Allen, Markail Benton, VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Mac Jones, Alex Leatherwood, Phil Mathis, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, Kendall Randolph, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, Henry Ruggs III, Tyrell Shavers, DeVonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Chadarius Townsend, Jedrick Wills, Daniel Wright
• 19 players in the 247Sports Top247 – Chris Allen, Markail Benton, VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Phil Mathis, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, Kendall Randolph, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, Henry Ruggs III, Tyrell Shavers, DeVonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Chadarius Townsend, Jedrick Wills, Daniel Wright
• 19 players in the Scout300 – Chris Allen, Markail Benton, VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Phil Mathis, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, Kendall Randolph, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, Henry Ruggs III, Tyrell Shavers, DeVonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Chadarius Townsend, Jedrick Wills, Daniel Wright
• 14 players on the PrepStar Top 150 Dream Team – Chris Allen, Markail Benton, VanDarius Cowan, Najee Harris, Jerry Jeudy, Alex Leatherwood, Xavier McKinney, Dylan Moses, LaBryan Ray, Brian Robinson, Tyrell Shavers, DeVonta Smith, Tua Tagovailoa, Jedrick Wills

*Breakdown provided by UA Athletics

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Men First, Women Second In

USTFCCCA Regional Track & Field Rankings

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – The South Region rankings are out, and the Alabama men's track and field team moved up one spot to No. 1 while the women advanced three spots to No. 2 in the South region in the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Regional Rankings.

The teams return to action February 10-11. Bama's distance runners will be competing at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa and the remainder of the two squads will head to Clemson, South Carolina for the Tiger Paw Invitational.

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Alabama Softball

Alexis Osorio Named To Watch List

Alabama's Alexis Osorio
Photo Credit: UA Athletics

OKLAHOMA CITY – For the second-straight season, Alabama softball junior pitcher Alexis Osorio has been selected to the Top-50 Player of the Year Watch List for the second consecutive season. The selection was announced on Wednesday by USA Softball.

A total of 18 juniors and 16 pitchers made the Top-50 list, and Osorio is one of 12 Southeastern Conference student-athletes to make the list, the most from one single conference in the nation. This is the 16th season for The Player of the Year Award, and is considered the most prestigious individual athletic honor in Division I softball. The list will be pared down to 25 this April 12th, with freshmen also eligible for addition at that point to that list. A top-10 list will then be announced on May 10th, a top 3 on May 24th and finally the winner will be announced on May 30th in Oklahoma City prior to the start of the Women's College World Series.

Osorio made 23 starts and 19 relief appearances during her last season, earning a 19-7 record with a team-leading 2.39 ERA and seven saves. The ace pitcher struck out 273 batters over 184.2 innings pitched, an average of 1.48 per inning, with just 74 walks allowed for a 3.69 K:BB ratio. For her career, Osorio is 41-16 with a 2.06 ERA and has 500 strikeouts over 376.2 innings pitched. Her 9.29 strikeouts-per-game is second in Alabama softball history and her .183 opposing batting average is third.

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Crimson Tide Gymnastics To Host Florida In

Annual Power Of Pink Meet On Friday

Photo Credit: UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama – Things will look a bit different in Coleman Coliseum this Friday, as it has once a year for the past 12 years. It's time for the 13th Annual Power of Pink Meet, sporting pink everywhere instead of the usual Crimson and White seen week after week. The No. 6 Alabama gymnastics team will host the No. 3 Florida Gators in the meet to help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. Both teams, in fact, will put aside their traditional school colors and wear pink leotards for this meet. This will be the second time that the Crimson Tide has competed against the Gators in pink. Bama has competed against 12 different teams over the years in pink meets.

Friday's meet between Alabama and Florida is the Crimson Tide's 25th "pink meet" overall. It also marks the second time the Tide has compete in pink against Florida. Overall, Alabama has competed against 12 different teams in pink meets.

The initiative is the brain child of former Alabama head coach Sarah Patterson back in 2004, and expanded to include all Alabama women's sports in 2009. Starting in Coleman Coliseum, pink meets have spread across the nation in the years since.

Patterson, back in the beginning of the Power of Pink, said, "I realize that I am very lucky, not only to be healthy, but also that I have access to excellent medical care. Not everyone is so fortunate, and I wanted to do something that would help those who need it most."

Patterson selected the big rivalry meet between Alabama and Auburn to kick things off February 4, 2005 as the first Power of Pink meet, and asked everyone to mark the date and to "Think Pink, Wear Pink." Since that first meet, the numbers have been grown.