Alabama Basketball: 2023-24 season preview for the Crimson Tide
Schedule Outlook
Nov. 6 – Morehead State
Nov. 10 – Indiana State
Nov. 14 – South Alabama
Nov. 17 – Mercer (Emerald Coast Classic)
Nov. 24 – Ohio State (Emerald Coast Classic)
Nov. 25 – Oregon/Santa Clara (Emerald Coast Classic)
Nov. 28 – Clemson (ACC/SEC Challenge)
Dec. 4 – Arkansas State
Dec. 9 – Purdue (Hall of Fame Series Toronto)
Dec. 16 – @ Creighton
Dec. 20 – @ Arizona (Hall of Fame Series Phoenix)
Dec. 23 – Eastern Kentucky
Dec 30 – Liberty (C.M. Newton Classic)
Jan. 6-Mar. 9 – SEC Play
March 13-17 – SEC Tournament
The Alabama Crimson Tide have a few marquee matchups before the conference schedule begins. They’ll kick the season off against Morehead State at home then play host to Indiana State, South Alabama and Mercer.
Their meeting against Mercer will kick off the Emerald Coast Classic, which takes place in Destin, Florida this season. A week after Mercer, they’ll face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the neutral-site bracket portion of the classic. The Crimson Tide haven’t faced Ohio State since 2002 and the series is at 3-3 in school history.
Alabama returns home on Nov. 28 to face the Clemson Tigers in the ACC/SEC Challenge in what should be a defensive battle. Clemson holds a two-game winning streak and a 7-4 edge in the series over Alabama heading into the inaugural event.
Arkansas State will travel to Tuscaloosa to kick off the month of December’s schedule. Alabama will travel to Toronto to face Purdue then square off with Creighton and Arizona on the road in a challenging trio of games. Alabama won the most recent meeting with the Boilermakers, 65-56, though Purdue holds the edge in the series 5-3.
The Crimson Tide is currently 0-2 against Creighton including 0-1 on the road but they’re 3-1 against Arizona in school history, with their one loss coming on the road. This stretch of games should really test Alabama’s resolve. They’ll wrap up the non-conference schedule against Eastern Kentucky and Liberty before beginning conference action on Jan. 6 at Vanderbilt.
Alabama will be an interesting group to keep an eye on leading up to January. With Sears potentially out in the early going with a hamstring injury, they’ll need to find another playmaker or two to tide things over until he returns.
If everyone is healthy for conference play, look for another Top 5 finish with this group in the conference standings. Grant Nelson has got Player of the Year potential while the potential is there for a few others to emerge as All-Conference selections.