Alabama Men’s Basketball Releases Non-Conference Schedule
On Tuesday afternoon, the Alabama men's basketball team released its 2023-24 non-conference schedule.
With what has become the usual in the Nate Oats' era, the Tide will once again play several high quality opponents before the team even starts SEC play.
The month of December in specific stands out. From December 9th until December 20th, Alabama will travel to Toronto to play Purdue, Omaha to play Creighton, and Phoenix to play Arizona. While both Purdue and Arizona are neutral site games, Alabama will be traveling much farther than their opponents. All three of these games will offer unique tests for the new look Crimson Tide.
Purdue, a one seed in last years NCAA tournament, will be returning reigning national player of the year Zach Edey. With the Tide losing Charles Bediako to the NBA, it will be very intriguing to see who can step up in the front court for the Tide this year.
Creighton will be another extremely tough game for the Tide early on. The Bluejays will be returning star guard Trey Alexander, to go along with adding highly coveted transfer guard Steven Ashworth. While the Bluejays will be losing guard Ryan Nembhard and forward Arthur Kaluma to the transfer portal, this will be a huge early test for Alabama.
Arizona, who is always a tough game for any team, will certainly be an important match up for the Tide. The Wildcats bring back center Oumar Ballo, and also bring in former NCAA tournament star Caleb Love. On top of that, former McDonald's All American and Alabama guard Jaden Bradley will be suiting up for the Wildcats.
While Alabama may lack the marquee home games we have come accustomed to, they still have several tough games in potential ASUN favorites Eastern Kentucky, Clemson, and a matchup against former assistant coach Bryan Hodgson.
With the program buzzing due to Nate Oats' early success, hopefully Alabama can capitalize off of a tough early slate of games.