Complete game notes (.pdf)

GAME 12
Detroit (5-6) at #16/15 Alabama (7-2)
Date:  Sun., Dec. 11, 2011
Tip Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Arena: Coleman Coliseum (15,383)
TV: ESPNU (Doug Bell/Carolyn Peck)
Live Stats: rolltide.com
Live Video: espn3.com
All-time Series: Alabama leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Ala. 74, Detroit 63 (2001 NIT Final Four)

ON TAP
Detroit will look to make it three wins in a row after a pair of impressive wins last week.  The Titans defeated BIG EAST opponent St. John's, 69-63, Monday and followed with a 61-point first-half en route to a 92-81 victory over Western Michigan Thursday.  Sunday's game at Alabama will be the first ranked opponent for Detroit of the season.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON TIDE
Alabama has dropped two straight after jumping out to a 7-0 start to the season.  The Tide had its 24-game home winning streak snapped in a 57-55 loss to Georgetown on Dec. 1.  On Wed., UA suffered a 74-62 setback at Dayton.  Three players have double-digit scoring averages for the Crimson Tide, led by Tony Mitchell's 15.4 ppg.  

THE SERIES WITH ALABAMA
The lone game in the all-time series came in the 2000-01 season at the NIT Final Four.  The Crimson Tide  came out on top, 74-63 behind Erwin Dudley's 20 points and 16 rebounds.  Detroit's Rashad Phillips led all scorers with 25 points on the strength of seven three-pointers.

WHAT'S NEXT?
Detroit closes out the bulk of its non-conference schedule, hosting Mississippi State (Dec. 17) and Alabama State (Dec. 22) before Christmas. Horizon League play resumes Dec. 29 when the Titans head to the Windy City for stops at UIC (Dec. 29) and Loyola (Dec. 31).

LAST TIME OUT
Senior Eli Holman scored 21 points in 19 minutes off-the-bench as the Titans outmuscled Western Michigan, 92-81 at Calihan Hall Thursday.  Holman, playing in his first game of the season, returned to post solid numbers and the home team ran-up 61 first-half points en route to the win.  Senior Chase Simon recorded his sixth 20-point game of the season.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Sunday's game will feature one of the top defensive squads up against a team that can put up points quickly.  Alabama ranks 12th in the nation, allowing just 55.4 points per game. Conversely, the Titans lead the Horizon League at 75.9 ppg and have scored 90+ points four times this season already.

TEAM USA REUNION
Over the summer, UA senior JaMychal Green was teammates with Ray McCallum on the USA Basketball World University Games team that competed in Shenzhen, China.  This will be the second time McCallum is reunited with a fellow USA teammate, after a Nov. 14 meeting at Notre Dame and former roommate Tim Abromaitis (was not in uniform, however).

RANK AND FILE
The Titans have their work cut out for them in the coming week, facing some of the nations best as they travel to #15/16 Alabama Sunday and return home for a Dec. 17 tip against #17/18 Mississippi State.  This season's schedule has featured a pair of schools from two power conferences: BIG EAST (Notre Dame, St. John's) and SEC (Alabama, Mississippi State).

GOOD USE OF MINUTES
Eli Holman played just 19 minutes in his first game of the season, but made the most of them in the win vs. Western Michigan.  The senior center scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked four shots while going 10-for-14 from the floor.  Holman and fellow center LaMarcus Lowe held WMU big man Matt Stainbrook without a field goal and just three points for the game.

THE MAGIC NUMBER: 90
Detroit racked-up 92 points in the win vs. Western Michigan Thursday, already the fourth time the Titans have surpassed the 90-point plateau.  To put it in perspective, Detroit managed that feat just four times all of last season and had just eight 90-point games combined in the eight years prior to 2010-11.  Detroit has won 46 straight when it hits the 90-point barrier, dating all the way back to the 1988-89 season.