Alabama basketball recently released its non-conference schedule for the upcoming 2025-26 season. Nate Oats and Co. look to continue to play a gauntlet, which has been the case since 2021. Here are the 5 best games in the non-conference games for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama basketball’s non-conference schedule was announced on Aug. 19 with the potential for seven quadrant one games which could bolster the NCAA Tournament resume come March.
#1: Alabama vs Purdue
With the Boilermakers entering the matchup likely as the preseason number one team and the national title favorites in a return game of the home-and-home series, it will bring tons of fireworks to Coleman Coliseum on Nov. 13.
With the return of Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn to the team, it will make for a dynamite matchup between the Tide’s guards.
This will be the first time since 2021 that Alabama has hosted a ranked non-conference matchup where Alabama edged out Houston in a one-point win.
The Crimson Tide last defeated Purdue in 2011 in an MTE in Puerto Rico with a 65-56 victory.
In total, these two schools have matched up on the court 10 times, and three times in the last three seasons, with Purdue basketball winning the all-time series 7-3. Last season, Purdue’s late run in the second half defeated the Tide in an 87-78 final.
#2: Alabama @ St. John’s
Oats and coach Rick Pitino have met multiple times when Pitino was with Iona with a 1-1 record, but it will be the second time the two teams meet at the Mecca of basketball inside Madison Square Garden since the 1955-1956 season.
The game will take place on the first Saturday of the season on Nov. 8, with the Tide also facing LSU on the gridiron that same day.
The Johnnies are coming off winning both the Big East regular season championship and the conference tournament championship.
The Tide has a rich history inside the “world’s most famous arena” with 22 games played with a 10-12 record according to TideHoopsHistory on X, with the last matchup in 2013 in a triple overtime loss to Drexel 85-83.
These two teams have not seen each other since the 80s, when the Tide won 69-68 in the 1981-1982 season.
#3: Alabama vs Arizona (C.M. Newton Classic)
With both Oats and Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd both coming off back-to-back second weekend appearances should be an intriguing matchup between the two opponents inside Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Ala.
This is the second of the return game in a home-and-home neutral site matchup with the Wildcats torching the Tide in Phoenix in 2023 with a 87-74 win.
Former Alabama player Jaden Bradley highlights the roster for the Wildcats and returns for his senior season in an interesting matchup with Sophomore guard Labaron Philon.
The teams have faced off three times in the last seven seasons and five times all-time, with the Tide having a 3-2 record with its last win coming in 2018 in a 76-73 win at home under Avery Johnson.
#4: Alabama vs Illinois (Chicago)
This game has the chance to be the highest scoring game out of the non-conference, with both teams known for firepower on the offensive end inside the United Center.
The Illini return a ton of Euro flavor to their roster under coach Brad Underwood, highlighted by Cal transfer Andrej Stojaković.
Last season it was all Alabama in the matchup and was really the coming out party for the dyanamic duo at guards with Philon and Aden Holloway, who combined to score 34 points in a 100-87 win.
The Tide owns a 4-1 record against the Fighting Illini dating back to the 1953 season, where Illinois won the first matchup between the two teams.
#5: Alabama vs Gonzaga (Players Era Festival)
Last season, Alabama basketball finished as runners-up in the first annual Players Era Festival, and now with an extended field match-up with the Bulldogs and Mark Few.
These two teams last matched up in 2022, where the Zags won 100-90 with Brandon Miller’s heroic 36-point game in a loss.
Both teams will be vying to win the over $1 million prize pool for the NIL collective.
There is also other games to look forward to besides the five that were listed like rematches with former Alabama basketball assistant coaches Antoine Pettway, Bryan Hodgson, and Austin Claunch at their respective programs.
[…] The season is just around the corner, with the Tide winning both of its tune-ups before the regular season begins, and the excitement among fans is starting to be palpable for this upcoming season of Alabama basketball. […]