Alabama Basketball: Early season preview of Tide hoops opponents

Alabama Basketball opens its 2021-22 season in less than two weeks. The conference season will be tough, as always, for the defending SEC champion, Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas look to be the league’s top teams. Not far behind are Auburn, Florida and LSU. Mississippi State and Ole Miss will be at least, tough, road challenges. Among the remaining five teams, only Georgia looks to not be improved.

The Alabama Basketball SEC schedule is 13 games away when the Crimson Tide opens the SEC with Tennessee in Tuscaloosa. In the 12 games before SEC play, the Tide has last season’s NCAA Tournament runner-up (Gonzaga, in Seattle), last season’s NIT champion (Memphis, in Memphis), and a difficult Thanksgiving tournament field that includes Iona, Belmont, Miami and Kansas.

During the first two weeks of December, sandwiched between the away games against Gonzaga and Memphis, the Tide hosts another NCAA final four, team, from last season, Houston.

Alabama Basketball Schedule Crazy Hard

Coming off twin SEC championships in the 2020-21 season, Nate Oats has chosen a bold approach. How bold? David Cobb, writing for CBS Sports, determined the Crimson Tide’s non-conference, 2021-22 schedule is the nation’s toughest. Cobb’s calculation includes the Crimson Tide’s January home against last season’s National Champion, Baylor.

Some Tide fans are concerned Oats is being too bold. The aggressive Alabama head coach disagrees.

"We’re never going to schedule light. I’d rather get exposed in non-conference, figure out what we’ve got to fix. We were 4-3 in seven games, then 16-2 in SEC. Better to get wake-up call in non-conference than in the SEC."

Alabama Basketball First Four Opponents

• Louisiana Tech – Nov. 9 in Tuscaloosa

The Bulldogs were 24-8 last season, including three NIT wins. Eric Konkol’s team returns three of its top four scorers from last season. Among the 358 Division One basketball programs, Ken Pomeroy has La. Tech at No. 88. Leading the Bulldogs’ four returning starters is Kenneth Lofton who shot almost 57 percent last season while earning Conference USA Freshman of the Year.

• South Dakota State – Nov. 12 in Tuscaloosa

After winning 28, 24 and 22 games in the three seasons preceding 2020-21, the Jackrabbits slumped to 16-7 last season. Coach Eric Henderson lost no players from last year’s team. He returns five double-digit scorers from 2020-21. Ken Pomeroy has the Jackrabbits as the No. 69 team.

• South Alabama – Nov. 16 in Tuscaloosa

Coach Richie Riley goes into his fourth season in Mobile and has what Sun Belt coaches believe is that conference’s 5th best team. The Jaguars were 17-11 last season. Ken Pomeroy ranks USA at No. 267.

• Oakland University – Nov. 19 in Tuscaloosa

Coach Greg Kampe will be in his 38th season as the Oakland coach and his 23rd at the Division One level. His Golden Grizzlies have won 380 games. Last season’s record of 12-18 was Oakland’s third straight losing season. Ken Pomeroy ranks Oakland at No. 193.

The Alabama Crimson Tide is expected to win these four November games. Louisiana Tech and the SDSU Jackrabbits will offer the stiffer challenges. In the first four games, a primary goal for Nate Oats will be testing player rotations from a deep Crimson Tide bench.

Some Alabama basketball fans the Tide should have won more easily over Louisana. Exhibition and early-season games can have unpredictable results. Arkansas had similar trouble in its exhibition, beating East Central 77-74.