| Alabama Crimson Tide | |||||||||||
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| University | University of Alabama | ||||||||||
| First season | 1912–13 | ||||||||||
| All-time record | 1,824–1,109–1 (.622) | ||||||||||
| Athletic director | Greg Byrne | ||||||||||
| Head coach | Nate Oats (6th season) | ||||||||||
| Conference | Southeastern Conference | ||||||||||
| Location | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | ||||||||||
| Arena | Coleman Coliseum (capacity: 15,316) | ||||||||||
| Nickname | Crimson Tide | ||||||||||
| Student section | Crimson Chaos | ||||||||||
| Colors | Crimson and white[1] | ||||||||||
| Uniforms | |||||||||||
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| NCAA tournament Final Four | |||||||||||
| 2024 | |||||||||||
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| Pre-tournament Premo-Porretta champions | |||||||||||
| 1930 | |||||||||||
| Conference tournament champions | |||||||||||
| 1930, 1934, 1982, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2021, 2023 | |||||||||||
| Conference regular-season champions | |||||||||||
| 1930, 1939, 1940, 1956, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1987, 2002, 2021, 2023 | |||||||||||
| Conference division regular-season champions | |||||||||||
| 2002, 2005, 2011 | |||||||||||
* vacated by NCAA[2] | |||||||||||
TheAlabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represents theUniversity of Alabama inNCAA Division Imen's basketball. The program plays in theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). Among SEC teams it trails only long-time basketball powerhouseKentucky in SEC tournament titles, is third behind Kentucky andTennessee in SEC regular season conference titles, and is fourth behind Kentucky,Texas, andArkansas in total wins. Alabama was retroactively recognized as the pre-NCAA tournament national champion for the 1929–30 season by thePremo-Porretta Power Poll.[3] The team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 25 times, most recently in2025, and has made ten Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, and one Final Four in the tournament. Alabama's current head coach isNate Oats.
The men's basketball program has spent most of its history in the shadow ofAlabama's football team, but has risen in stature over the past several decades. The program was notable as a regular conference basketball contender in the 1980s and early 1990s under the direction of coachWimp Sanderson and in the 1970s under coachC. M. Newton. Under former coachMark Gottfried, the team achieved a No. 1 national ranking briefly in 2003. In the2003–04 season, the team defeated #1-seededStanford in theNCAA tournament, and reached theElite Eight round for the first time where they lost to the eventual national champion,Connecticut.
Under Nate Oats, the team earned SEC titles in2021 and2023. In the latter year, the Crimson Tide achieved their best-ever season in program history to that point, earning the No. 1 overall seed in theNCAA tournament. They fell to the eventual runner-up,San Diego State, in the Sweet Sixteen. In the2024 NCAA tournament, they defeated #1-seededNorth Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen, and defeated #6-seededClemson in the Elite Eight to advance to their first Final Four appearance in the school's history where they lost to the eventual national champion,UConn.
Former coaches with at least five years with the Crimson Tide include the following:Hank Crisp (1923–1942, 1945–1946),Hayden Riley (1960–1968),C. M. Newton (1968–1980),Wimp Sanderson (1980–1992) – Alabama's winningest coach (.692),David Hobbs (1992–1998),Mark Gottfried (1998–2009), andAnthony Grant (2009–2015).[4][5]
Other coaches includeJohn Dee,D.V. Graves,Floyd Burdette, andCharles A. Bernier.[5]
In 1968, legendary Alabama football coachPaul "Bear" Bryant, who was also Alabama's athletic director, calledKentucky men's basketball coachAdolph Rupp looking for someone to turn around Alabama's basketball program. Rupp recommendedC. M. Newton, a former backup player at Kentucky who had been atTransylvania University for 12 years.[6] In 12 seasons at Alabama, Newton led the Tide to a record of 211–123. The Crimson Tide won three straight SEC titles under Newton (1974, 1975, and 1976), the only program besides Kentucky to accomplish this feat.[6] Newton also guided Alabama to fourNIT and twoNCAA Men's Division I Championship tournament berths, prompting the school to name a recruiting suite in his honor in 2006.[7]
Just as he did at Transylvania, Newton recruited Alabama's first black player,Wendell Hudson, in 1969, integrating his second team in as many coaching stops.[8]
Newton resigned as head coach after the 1980–81 season to become assistant commissioner of the SEC. He was succeeded by his top assistant,Wimp Sanderson. He had been at Alabama since 1960 as a graduate assistant to Newton's predecessor,Hayden Riley; he was named a full-fledged assistant in 1961. In 12 years as head coach his teams averaged 21.8 wins a year, with a 267–119 record, and they won 4 SEC tournaments. They played in one NIT and eight NCAA tournaments making the "Sweet 16" five times. Sanderson is the only coach in Alabama history to win 200 or more games in his first 10 years. He was the SEC Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and was the National Coach of the Year in 1987.[9]
Sanderson was best known for wearing garishplaidsports jackets on the sidelines. At one point,Coleman Coliseum was known as the "Plaid Palace", and the mid-court logo was painted in a crimson-and-white plaid pattern.
Hobbs was hired at Alabama as an assistant coach for Wimp Sanderson in 1985 and spent seven years as an assistant in Tuscaloosa helping the Crimson Tide win one SEC Championship and four SEC Tournament crowns while the Tide made four appearances in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. As an assistant, he had the opportunity to coach such All-SEC performers asRobert Horry,James "Hollywood" Robinson andLatrell Sprewell.
When Sanderson left Alabama following the 1992 season, Hobbs was named head coach. In his first season, the Tide finished 16–13 and advanced to the NIT. In 1994 and 1995, Alabama recorded 20-win seasons and advanced to the NCAA tournament behind the play of future NBA All-StarAntonio McDyess. In 1996, Hobbs led UA to a 19–13 mark and a berth in theNIT Final Four. He resigned his post following the 1998 season after compiling a 110–76 (.594) career record and producing nine All-SEC players.
| Mark Gottfried (1998–2009) | |||
| Season | Overall record | SEC record | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 17–15 | 7–11 | NIT 1st Round |
| 1999–2000 | 13–16 | 6–10 | None |
| 2000–01 | 25–11 | 8–8 | NIT Championship Game |
| 2001–02 | 27–8 | 12–4 | NCAA 2nd round |
| 2002–03 | 17–12 | 7–9 | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2003–04 | 20–13 | 8–8 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2004–05 | 24–8 | 12–4 | NCAA 1st Round |
| 2005–06 | 18–13 | 10–6 | NCAA 2nd round |
| 2006–07 | 20–12 | 7–9 | NIT 1st Round |
| 2007–08 | 17–16 | 5–11 | Declined invitation toCBI[10] |
| 2008–09 | 12–7 | 2–3 | Resigned mid-season. |
| Overall record: 210–130 (.618) | |||
Mark Gottfried served as the Crimson Tide's head coach from the 1998–99 season until midway through the 2008–09 season.[4] Gottfried played 3 seasons of basketball at Alabama under Wimp Sanderson, and the Crimson Tide advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in each of those seasons. He was hired by Alabama in March 1998 after coaching atMurray State for three seasons.
The Crimson Tide achieved the highest pinnacle ever for the school in both theNCAA Championship tournament and theAssociated Press Poll reaching the Elite Eight in the tournament in 2004 and reaching the No. 1 spot in the nation in the AP poll in 2002, both under Mark Gottfried's command.
Gottfried led the Tide to its only SEC Championship under his watch during the 2001–02 season, although the team never won a conference tournament championship during his tenure. For his efforts in 2002, Gottfried was named SEC Coach of the Year by both the Associated Press and his fellow Southeastern Conference coaches. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment as coach at Alabama was leading the Crimson Tide to five consecutive NCAA tournaments from 2002 to 2006, another first for the school that occurred under his watch.
Gottfried resigned on January 26, 2009, with 11 regular season games still remaining on the team's schedule. Then Athletic DirectorMal Moore named long-time Alabama assistant and former player,Philip Pearson as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.
On March 27, 2009Anthony Grant agreed in principle to become the 20th Crimson Tide head men's basketball coach.[11] Grant came to Alabama after serving as the head coach atVCU from 2006 to 2009.
After a mediocre first season, Grant led the veteran2010–11 team to a SEC West title and a 2nd-place finish in the2011 NIT. The2011–12 team endured the suspensions of several star players to finish with a 21–12 record and a berth in the2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, where they lost in the round of 64 toCreighton. This was the Crimson Tide's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2006. In March 2015, Grant was fired by Alabama after six seasons. Assistant coach John Brannen served as interim head coach for the 2015 NIT tournament.[12]
On April 5, 2015,Avery Johnson agreed to become Alabama's next head coach.[13] The formerNBA coach said he was attracted to the position because he perceived it as "a big challenge" in that Alabama is not a "perennial favorite" and has never won a championship before.[14] Johnson's 2017–18 team finished with a 20–16 (8–10) record and was invited to theNCAA tournament. The next season, the Tide finished 18–16 (8–10) and Johnson was let go at the end of the campaign.[15]
On March 27, 2019,Nate Oats was named Alabama's next head coach.[16] Oats was previously the coach for theBuffalo Bulls, and had led them to three NCAA tournament appearances in the past four years. After a 16–15 record in his first season in 2019–20, Oats'second season brought Alabama the first SEC regular-season title since 2002 and the first SEC tournament title since 1991. The Tide were a No. 2 seed in the 2021 tournament, where they fell toUCLA in overtime in the Sweet Sixteen. Then in2023, Oats coached Alabama to their second SEC regular season and tournament championship in three years. Alabama returned as the No. 1 overall seed in the2023 NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the second time under Oats tenure before falling toSan Diego State who advanced to the National Championship game.
In2024, Alabama once again made theNCAA tournament and advanced to their second Elite Eight in program history after defeatingNorth Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen. Bama beat Clemson in the West Region finals to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. By the end of the2024–25 season, Oats had led Alabama to two Sweet Sixteen finishes, one Elite Eight finish, and one Final Four, the most sustained runs of tournament success by the school.
Oats also holds the best record against AP top 10 teams in Alabama history.[citation needed]
| 2025–26 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Crimson Tide basketball team practices and plays inColeman Coliseum, a multi-purpose arena on the UA campus in Tuscaloosa. The arena was built for $4.2 million and opened in 1968 as a replacement for the agingFoster Auditorium. In 2005, the building underwent a renovation in which more seats were added. The arena officially seats 15,314 people.
Coleman Coliseum was named for Jefferson Jackson Coleman, a prominent alumnus and longtime supporter of the University of Alabama. Until his death in 1995, he was the only person that had attended every Alabama footballbowl game, starting with theRose Bowl Game on January 1, 1926. Prior to 1990, the building was known asMemorial Coliseum.
"Mark's Madness" was a student organization named after former Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried, which is also a play on the nickname for theNCAA basketball tournament, "March Madness".[17] It was created by a group of Alabama students in January 2000 in an attempt to create a more exciting atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum.[18] During the Gottfried era, the Crimson Tide was an impressive 137-27 (.835) in Coleman Coliseum.[17] Mark's Madness was the largest student organization on campus during its time.[17] The end of Mark Gottfried's tenure in early 2009 also meant the end of the Mark's Madness name.
After Coach Anthony Grant was hired, a group of senior students approached the UA Marketing Department in the summer 2009 about resurrecting the student section organization. During the first exhibition game of the 2009 season, it was announced that the new name of the student organization for supporting Alabama basketball would be "Crimson Chaos".
As Crimson Chaos entered its second year, it officially registered as aUniversity of Alabama student group and adopted a new format. In addition to supporting men's basketball, Crimson Chaos expanded to support all University of Alabama sports, becoming the official student group ofathletics at the university.[19] The group also tried new things to make the atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum as intimidating as it was in previous years, including adding the "Roll Tide Roller Coaster".[20] The newly energized environment Crimson Chaos created in Coleman Coliseum helped the Tide complete an undefeated season at home (for the2010–11 season) with a 19–0 record, including wins over then #12Kentucky,Georgia,Mississippi State.
The group's popularity garnered even more attention and praise thanks to the late superfan Luke “Fluff” Ratliff. He became the Crimson Chaos president and wore a plaid jacket to almost every game. He was loved by many for his light hearted humor and happy-go-lucky attitude. He inspired many people to follow and share in his passion for the tide hoops program and also other athletic teams around campus. He sparked the basketball program under Coach Nate Oats and continues to be an inspiration to so many. There is a plaque engraved to honor Fluff in the dedicated chair for all Crimson Chaos Presidents who come after him.[21][citation needed]
Alabama has appeared in the NCAA tournament 26 times. It has reached theSweet Sixteen twelve times,[a][23] theElite Eight three times, and theFinal Four once. Alabama has an overall NCAA tournament record of 32–26.[24][25]
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | - | First Round | Arizona State | L 94–97 |
| 1976 | - | First Round Sweet Sixteen | North Carolina Indiana | W 79–64 L 69–74 |
| 1982 | #4 | Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #5St. John's #1North Carolina | W 69–68 L 69–74 |
| 1983 | #6 | First Round | #11Lamar | L 50–73 |
| 1984 | #9 | First Round | #8Illinois State | L 48–49 |
| 1985 | #7 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #10Arizona #2VCU #3NC State | W 50–41 W 63–59 L 55–61 |
| 1986 | #5 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #12Xavier #4Illinois #1Kentucky | W 97–80 W 58–56 L 63–68 |
| 1987* | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #15North Carolina A&T #7New Orleans #6Providence | W 88–71 W 101–76 L 82–103 |
| 1989 | #6 | First Round | #11South Alabama | L 84–86 |
| 1990 | #7 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #10Colorado State #2Arizona #11Loyola Marymount | W 71–54 W 77–55 L 60–62 |
| 1991 | #4 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #13Murray State #5Wake Forest #1Arkansas | W 89–79 W 96–88 L 70–93 |
| 1992 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12Stanford #4North Carolina | W 80–75 L 55–64 |
| 1994 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8Providence #1Purdue | W 76–70 L 73–83 |
| 1995 | #5 | First Round Second Round | #12Penn #4Oklahoma State | W 91–85OT L 52–66 |
| 2002 | #2 | First Round Second Round | #15Florida Atlantic #10Kent State | W 86–78 L 58–71 |
| 2003 | #10 | First Round | #7Indiana | L 62–67 |
| 2004 | #8 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #9Southern Illinois #1Stanford #5Syracuse #2Connecticut | W 65–64 W 70–67 W 80–71 L 71–87 |
| 2005 | #5 | First Round | #12Milwaukee | L 73–83 |
| 2006 | #10 | First Round Second Round | #7Marquette #2UCLA | W 90–85 L 59–62 |
| 2012 | #9 | Second Round[b] | #8Creighton | L 57–58 |
| 2018 | #9 | First Round Second Round | #8Virginia Tech #1Villanova | W 86–83 L 58–81 |
| 2021 | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #15Iona #10Maryland #11UCLA | W 68–55 W 96–77 L 78–88OT |
| 2022 | #6 | First Round | #11Notre Dame | L 64–78 |
| 2023 | #1 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen | #16Texas A&M–Corpus Christi #8Maryland #5San Diego State | W 96–75 W 73–51 L 64–71 |
| 2024 | #4 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four | #13Charleston #12Grand Canyon #1North Carolina #6Clemson #1Connecticut | W 109–96 W 72–61 W 89–87 W 89–82 L 72–86 |
| 2025 | #2 | First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | #15Robert Morris #7Saint Mary's #6BYU #1Duke | W 90–81 W 80–66 W 113–88 L 65–85 |
Alabama has appeared in 16National Invitation Tournaments, reaching the championship game on two occasions. Alabama has an overall NIT record of 24–19.
| Year | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | - | First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third-place game | Manhattan Minnesota Virginia Tech North Carolina | W 87–86 W 69–65 L 73–74 L 69–88 |
| 1977 | - | First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third-place game | Memphis State Virginia Tech Houston Villanova | W 86–63 W 79–72 L 76–82 L 89–102 |
| 1979 | - | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third-place game | St. Bonaventure Virginia Texas A&M Purdue Ohio State | W 98–89 W 90–88 W 72–68 L 68–87 W 96–86 |
| 1980 | - | First round Second round | Penn State Murray State | W 53–49 L 62–70 |
| 1981 | - | First round Second round | St. John's Duke | W 73–69 L 70–75 |
| 1993 | - | First round | UAB | L 56–58 |
| 1996 | - | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Third-place game | Illinois Missouri South Carolina St. Joseph's Tulane | W 72–69 W 72–49 W 68–67 L 69–74 L 76–87 |
| 1999 | - | First round | Wake Forest | L 57–73 |
| 2001 | - | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game | Seton Hall Toledo Purdue Detroit-Mercy Tulsa | W 85–79 W 79–69 W 85–77 W 74–63 L 66–79 |
| 2007 | #5 | First round | #4 Massachusetts | L 87–89 |
| 2011 | #1 | First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship Game | #8 Coastal Carolina #4 New Mexico #2 Miami (FL) #1 Colorado #4 Wichita State | W 68–44 W 74–67 W 79–64 W 62–61 L 57–66 |
| 2013 | #1 | First round Second round Quarterfinals | #8 Northeastern #4 Stanford #2 Maryland | W 62–43 W 66–54 L 57–58 |
| 2015 | #6 | First round Second round | #3 Illinois #2 Miami (FL) | W 79–58 L 66–73 |
| 2016 | #5 | First round | #4 Creighton | L 54–72 |
| 2017 | #3 | First round | #6 Richmond | L 64–71 |
| 2019 | #1 | First round | #8 Norfolk State | L 79–80OT |
Alabama has seen its stars go on to win nineNBA Championships and earn sixAll-Star selections, sixAll-Defensive Team honors, threeAll-Rookie honors and more than $390 million in the NBA. Former Alabama players have gone on to suit up in nearly 10,000 NBA games and have scored more than 90,000 cumulative points.
| Player | Years at UA | NBA Team |
| Collin Sexton | 2017–2018 | Charlotte Hornets |
| Herbert Jones | 2017–2021 | New Orleans Pelicans |
| Keon Ellis | 2020–2022 | Sacramento Kings |
| JD Davison | 2021–2022 | Houston Rockets |
| Brandon Miller | 2022–2023 | Charlotte Hornets |
| Noah Clowney | 2022–2023 | Brooklyn Nets |
| Mark Sears | 2022-2025 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| Chris Youngblood | 2024-2025 | Oklahoma City Thunder |
Source: Basketball Reference[26]
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Alabama has retired one jersey number, 20 forWendell Hudson (F), who played Forward for Alabama 1969–1973.[27]
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