16. Alabama Crimson Tide
Injury setbacks hit early, but Nate Oats’ backcourt duo of Labaron Philon Jr. and Aden Holloway gives Alabama elite scoring potential. Taylor Bowen (Florida State) and Latrell Wrightsell return to strengthen a deep, athletic rotation.
The Crimson Tide were the top scoring teams in all of college basketball, with 90.7 poitns per game. Defensively, Alabama could use some work, as they allowed 81.3 per game. The CrimsoN Tide shared the basketball, as they were 18th with 17.2 assists per game, and were great on the glass, with 42.4 per game. Oats demands those things out of his teams, which should be a calling card of the 2025-26 team.
The Crimson Tide fell to Florida in the SEC Semifinals by 22 points, but turned around and won three straight nCAA Tournament games. The highlight was scoring 113 points against a Brigham Young team that was a six seed out of the East Region. Mark Sears led the way in that game with 34 points. It was a great run that ended in front of nearly 19,000 fans in Newark, as they could not slow down Duke.
Oats has put together one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country with consecutive games against St. John’s, Purdue, Illinois, Gonzaga, UNLV and Clemson. They also will take on the Arizona Wildcats before Christmas.
- Head Coach: Nate Oats (7th season)
- Home Arena: Coleman Coliseum; Tuscaloosa, AL.
- 2024-25 Record: 28-9
- 2024-25 Conference Record: 13-5
- 2024-25 Advancement: Reached NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. The Crimson Tide beat Robert Morris by 9, Saint Mary’s by 14 and Brigham Young by 25. At the Prudential Center, Duke downed the Crimson Tide 85-65.
- Leading scorer: Mark Sears, 18.6 per game
- Leading rebounder: Grant Nelson, 7.6 per game
- First Game: Monday, November 3rd, 2025 vs. North Dakota