Basketball Features National Leaders

Friday night’s men's basketball match-up between The University of Alabama and Chicago State will feature a couple of national statistics leaders playing on both teams.

The Alabama Crimson Tide, 10-4, hosts Chicago State, 5-12, at 7 p.m. CST in Coleman Coliseum Friday. The game marks the final non-conference regular season game for Alabama which opens league play at home on Tuesday at 8 p.m. against the two-time defending national champion Florida Gators. It also marks the first time Alabama and Chicago State have played one another in men’s basketball.

Tickets are on sale. Friday night’s game against Chicago State includes a holiday ticket special. Fans can purchase four tickets for a total of $20. Each additional ticket is $5. Single game non-conference tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for kids aged 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online through Alabama’s official website, www.rolltide.com , by phone by calling 1-877-TIDETIX or at the Athletic Ticket Box Office in the main lobby of Coleman Coliseum.

Friday night’s game gives fans a chance to see in person some national statistics leaders.

Alabama’s Richard Hendrix ranks seventh in the nation in rebounding and leads the Southeastern Conference in that stat as he has all season.

Chicago State’s David Holston, a 5-8 senior guard, leads the nation in 3-point field goals made per game at 5.1 and he ranks 11th in the NCAA in points per game. He’s averaging 23.1 points a game. And The Cougars’ Chidozie Chukwumah ranks 20th in the NCAA in blocks with his 2.5 average.

“They are very athletic and they play extremely hard,” said Alabama Coach Mark Gottfried of Chicago State. “They had a nice win at Eastern Michigan last [Wednesday] night. They’ve got two terrific guards who can score the ball really well. Holston is averaging 23 points a game and John Cantrell is averaging about 15 a game, so that’s the thing that jumps out at you about their team, those two guys, and how well they’ve played.

"They’ve played a lot of road games. They’re not intimidated about going on the road. They’ve done it enough this year, so we recognize all that about them.”