ROCK HILL, SC—As final exams come to an end, the Winthrop men's basketball team will turn its focus back to basketball as it hits the road for a contest at Alabama, Wednesday night.

GAME SNAPSHOT 
Winthrop (6-2) at Alabama (6-2)
Game Time: 9 p.m. EST / Site: Tuscaloosa, AL (Coleman Coliseum)
Live Video: WatchESPN Television: SECN (John Saunders/Jon Sundvold) / Audio: 104.1 The Bridge (pregame 8:30 p.m. with Dave Friedman)
Live Stats / Live Video / Live Audio

SERIES HISTORY
It is just the third time the Eagles will face Alabama and the first time since Dec. 3, 2005. That season the Eagles came up just short of trying to upset 18^th-ranked Alabama on the road, 60-57. Alabama has won both of the meetings, capturing the first ever meeting on Nov. 25, 1995 in Tuscaloosa 84-69.

WINTHROP VERSUS THE SEC
This will be the 28^th time the Eagles will face an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. Winthrop is 3-24 all-time against the SEC with the last win coming on Dec. 22, 2014 at Auburn (74-67). The other two wins over an SEC school came on Nov. 18, 2006 with a 74-63 win at Mississippi State and on Dec. 9, 2003 with an 80-60 win at Georgia. The Eagles are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings with an SEC opponent. The Eagles are coming off a 74-64 loss at SEC foe Georgia on Dec. 8. This will be the first time since the 2005-06 season that the Eagles play opponents from the SEC in back-to-back games. That year they faced Alabama and South Carolina back-to-back on the road.

6-2 START ONE OF BEST IN PROGRAM'S HISTORY
Winthrop is off to a 6-2 start, which is just the seventh time in the program's history the Eagles have begun a season 6-2. The Eagles will be looking for its first 7-2 start since the 2004-05 season. The only other time the Eagles were 7-2 to start a season prior to 2004-05 was in 1983-84 and that team ended up starting the season 11-2.

THE MATCHUP
Winthrop is coming off a 74-64 road loss at Georgia on Dec. 8. It was the worst shooting night of the season for the Eagles after starting the game 2-for-16 from the field. From that point they were 19-for-44 (43%), but Georgia was too much at the line finishing 29-for-36. The Eagles are 2-2 on the road this season, with each game being decided by an average of five points. Through eight games this season the Eagles have been strong offensively, scoring 83.4 ppg. Most of the Eagles offense goes through its guard play and the team is averaging 8.4 three-point field goals per game. The Eagles are getting to the foul line an average of 29.5 times per game and shooting 75 percent (ranked 32^nd nationally). Alabama has won four straight games, all of them away from Coleman Coliseum and is coming off a one-point win at Clemson on Dec. 13 (51-50). The Tide are scoring 65.2 ppg and allowing 67.4. During the four-game winning streak the Tide has won three of the games by a single-possession. Similar to the Eagles, the Tide is one of the top shot blocking teams in the country and 5.3 per game (43^rd).
 
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Keon Johnson has continued to shine for the Eagles on the offensive end of the court as he posted 21 points in the loss at Georgia. It was the second time in three games he hit the 20-point plateau. He's been in double-figures in all eight games and is averaging 22.6 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 52 percent from the floor and 54 percent behind the arc in the last five games. Johnson has scored double-figures in all five games he's played against Power 5 opponents. Over the last five games, Jimmy Gavin is the only other Eagle averaging double-figures at 18.2 ppg. He's shooting 40 percent from the floor and 33 percent behind the arc but is getting the foul line (27-for-32). Retin Obasohan leads Alabama in scoring at 14.1 per game and is averaging 20.7 ppg in the last three games. He's shooting 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from three while leading the team in free throws attempted and made. Shannon Hale is the only other Tide player averaging in double-figures and he's been in double-figures five of the last six games. He posted a season-high 20 points in the win over Wichita State and had 19 in the win over Notre Dame. He's tied for the team lead in made threes with 15 (41%).

THE COACHES
Pat Kelsey is in his fourth season at the helm of the Winthrop men's basketball program. He holds a record of 59-45 in four seasons with appearances in the Big South championship game the past two seasons. The Eagles are 30-22 in Big South games under Kelsey. Alabama is led by first-year head coach Avery Johnson, who previously played and coached in the NBA. Johnson helped lead the San Antonio Spurs to the 1999 NBA title as a player. This is his first season coaching at the NCAA level as he posted a 254-186 record in seven seasons in the NBA.

MILESTONES
Johnson passed 900 career points in the game at Georgia and is five made threes away from cracking the program's all-time Top 10. He's on pace to surpass 1,000 career points this season, potentially before the end of 2015 with five games remaining. Duby Okeke is on a record pace for blocked shots in a single-season. Okeke had three blocks at Georgia and has multiple-blocks in all eight games played. He's recorded 20 blocks in the last five games. In eight games he's blocked 28 shots (3.5 bpg) and the program record for blocks in a season is 66 by Josh Grant in 2002-03. Okeke has 74 career blocks and Xavier Cooks has 55. They are both on pace to crack the program's career Top 10 list as Eddie Gay and Heson Groves sit at 10^th with 76. Billy Houston is the all-time leader in career blocks with 139. Okeke is currently ranked 4^th nationally in blocks per game.