Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Men's Basketball Loses 83-77 At Auburn; Hegstetter Candidate For Senior CLASS Award; Bama Soccer Adds A New Face; Has DT Raekwon Davis Flipped?; Bama Football After 4-Star Cornerback; Tide Football Opens 14-Point Favorite Over USC


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Bama Men's Basketball Loses At Auburn 83-77

Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Kent Gidley

It's never fun to lose. And even less fun when losing to your in-state rival.

The University of Alabama men's basketball team lost at Auburn last night 83-77 in a packed Auburn Arena in a game that see-sawed back and forth. There were nine lead changes in the contest and six ties.

Men's head basketball coach Avery Johnson said, "It was a loss but I am proud of our guys. We battled through a lot of adversity tonight and showed what they are made of. We have a lot of character on our team and a lot of mental toughness. For us being together for the first year with a lot of new guys who have never played in the this building or never played in this rivalry, I am proud of my team."

Three Crimson Tide starters fouled out of Tuesday night's contest. JIMMIE TAYLOR, MICHAEL KESSENS and ARTHUR EDWARDS were all forced to leave the game early. Fouls were rampant in the contest, with the Tide being whistled 29 times and the Tigers another 24 times for a combined 53 fouls on the evening. Auburn had 40 free throw attempts to 28 for Bama on the night, with Auburn on the leading end of that point-wise 28-19.

Senior guard RETIN OBASOHAN had a career-high and game-leading 27 points for the Crimson Tide, his sixth 20-point game of the season. Also scoring in double-figures for Bama was junior forward SHANNON HALE, coming off the bench to pump in 13. JUSTIN COLEMAN and RILEY NORRIS both scored nine points on the night. Taylor added eight, Kessens had six, and Edwards had two points before fouling out of the contest. BRANDON AUSTIN added another three points in the losing effort.

Taylor led the team in rebounds with eight, followed by Obasohan with six. Hale, Coleman and Edwards each pulled down four rebounds each, Kessens and DONTA HALL had three rebounds each and Norris added two.

Coleman led the team in assists with five, followed by Hale with two, and Obasohan and Edwards both had one.

Alabama will host LSU on Saturday at Coleman Coliseum. The sold-out game will be broadcast on ESPNU with a 1 p.m. CT tip off.  

Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Kent Gidley


Photo Credit: RollTide.com/Kent Gidley


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Hegstetter Candidate For Senior CLASS Award

Photo Credit: RollTide.com


A total of 30 NCAA Division I women's basketball student-athletes have been named as candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award, and one of those is University of Alabama senior NIKKI HEGSTETTER. In order to qualify for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition, all of which epitomize Hegstetter.

Hegstetter has started 86 games over her four-year career with the Crimson Tide, and is averaging 8.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season. After only three years the young lady has completed her undergraduate degree in marketing, and was named the Austin Scholar for Outstanding Senior in the Culverhouse College of Commerce. That award is presented annually to the outstanding undergraduate student in the Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration which is selected by the entire college faculty. Hegstetter is also a three-time member of the SEC's Academic Honor Roll.

In addition to her academic and athletic achievements, Hegstetter was honored with the James Larry Carmichael Department of Marketing Outstanding Student Service Award, which goes to the student with the most distinguished reputation for service to the entire University of Alabama community. She has also twice been named to the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team for women’s basketball as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity, The Miracle League of Tuscaloosa, local high school camps, the DCH Manderson Cancer Center and the Capstone Village Retirement Community are but a few of her community projects. 

The 30 candidates will be narrowed down to 10 finalists in February, with those 10 candidates being placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

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Bama Soccer Adds A New Face

Photo Credit: RollTide.com



Alabama Crimson Tide soccer will sport a new face immediately with the addition of freshman CHLOE MAIZE, according to Bama head soccer coach WES HART. Hart is an early enrollee for the spring semester.

"We are thrilled to have Cloe as part of our 2016 recruiting class," coach Hart stated. "Her ability to create and score goals makes her a special talent. Chloe's decision to enroll mid-year is huge for us. It allows us to start integrating Chloe to the team, while also adjusting to the physical and mental demands of a college student-athlete. I believe Chloe has a bright future ahead of her. We expect big things from her the next four years."

Chloe is a native of Cleveland, Tennessee and brings numerous soccer awards and accolades with her, as well as an impressive 4.0 GPA.


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Has DT Raekwon Davis Flipped?


The state of four-star Meridian, Mississippi defensive tackle RAEKWON DAVIS seems to be in doubt. Conflicting reports have the long-time Bama commit flipping his commitment to Mississippi State following an official visit there.

According to AL.com, Davis said he was flipping. He told Scout, "I just flipped to Mississippi State. I am happy to be a Bulldog." However, later in the same day he supposedly told TideSports, BamaMag and SECCountry that he was committed to Alabama.

Davis' Twitter account reflected the flip, going from Alabama to Mississippi State and then back to Alabama. He later tweeted, "Ppl don't want to see me happy."

At the Army All-America Bowl, Davis said that he "was still weighing his options."

It appears to be a case of, "wait until National Signing Day" to find out where he is actually going.

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Bama Football After 4-Star Cornerback


Alabama Crimson Tide head football coach NICK SABAN wants four-star Texas cornerback JARED MAYDEN. The former Oregon-commit is back on the market and this past weekend was on the UA campus for an official visit after re-opening his recruitment. 

The Sachse, Texas native had paid an earlier unofficial visit to the Capstone back in April. The official visit this past weekend allowed Mayden to speak again to new Bama defensive coordinator JEREMY PRUITT. The two had already spoken when Mayden took his official visit at Georgia back in the summer when Pruitt was the DC there.

Concering Pruitt, Mayden said, "He's cool. He was at Georgia and I took the Georgia official visit so it's not like I didn't know who he was. He's cool." Mayden said, however, the highlight of his visit was the opportunity to hang out with the players.

It's common knowledge that the Tide is interested in defensive backs for the 2016 recruiting class. And corner is a big need. He said Bama is looking at him as a cornerback, and that the coaches told him "they're losing four DBs," so they need "someone to come in and step up and play at some of the defensive back positions."

This weekend will be his final official visit, Oklahoma. He has taken official visits to Oregon, Georgia and Michigan also. 

Mayden said, "I really don't know. Even though I can't take any more official visits, I can still take some unofficials. I really just don't know what schools yet." He currently holds offers from more than 40 schools. 

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Alabama Football


Tide Opens 14-Point Favorite Over USC




The University of Alabama Crimson Tide football team has barely been able to bask in the glory of the January 2nd College Football Playoff National Championship before people started heading to the NFL, which is expected...and a line has already been placed on the team's first 2016 regular season contest. Alabama defeated the Clemson Tigers 45-40 to capture the school's 16th National Championship, and the fourth in seven years under head coach NICK SABAN.

So now, with the festivities barely over, it appears a betting line has already been established on the Tide's opening contest with the USC Trojans. 5Dimes.com says that Alabama has opened as a 14-point favorite in this next season's opener. The game is a neutral-site game in a venue of which the Crimson Tide has become acquainted. Bama and USC will open the 2016 College Football season on Saturday, September 3rd inside AT&T Stadium. Alabama played two contests there this season, defeating Wisconsin in their season-opener and then Big 10 champ Michigan State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. The kickoff time for the game has not as yet been set. No decision has been made as to which network will broadcast the game either.

USC finished the 2015 season with an 8-6 overall record, 6-3 in the Pac-12 after falling to the Wisconsin Badgers23-21 in the Holiday Bowl.

This next meeting will be the eighth meeting between Alabama and USC, with the Tide leading the series 5-2. Alabama will be going for its 17th National Championship, the fifth in eight years, and the second back-to-back under Saban.