Alabama Basketball adds to tough non-conference schedule
Alabama Basketball has played plenty of marquee non-conference opponents under Coach Nate Oats, and that won’t change in 2023-24. In addition to games against Arizona and Creighton, Bama is now slated to play Purdue next season. The game is set to take place on December 9th at a neutral site in Toronto.
Like the Crimson Tide, the Boilermakers were a no. 1 seed in this spring’s NCAA Tournament, but notoriously fell in the first round to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson.
Purdue should be a solid team at worst next year. It returns its starting backcourt of Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, who took their lumps as freshmen last season but showed flashes of excellence.
The Boilermakers also expect to return a slew of veteran shotmakers such as senior wings Mason Gillis and Ethan Morton and forward Caleb Furst. The elephant in the room is 7’4″ center Zach Edey. The 2023 National Player of the Year is still testing the NBA Draft waters.
Alabama Basketball: Nothing easy for Coach Oats
Nate Oats put together a tough schedule in the 2021-22 season, and organized a gauntlet that included five ranked non-conference opponents last season. He is well on his way to building a schedule of similar difficulty next winter.
In ESPN’s “Way Too Early” Top 25, Creighton (no. 14), Purdue (no. 16), and Arizona (no. 24) are all ranked. For reference, Alabama Basketball comes in at no. 12, and is one of five SEC teams in the ranking.
Per CBS Sports analyst Gary Parrish, these opponents should be held in even higher regard. Parrish has Purdue at no. 3, Creighton at no. 11, and Arizona at no. 21. He also has Alabama at no. 7, which is the highest ranking among the seven SEC teams he included in his “Top 25-and-1.”
This week, an interesting storyline was added to this non-conference schedule when former Alabama guard Jaden Bradley committed to Arizona.
Bradley was a 5-star recruit in the class of 2022, and started 22 games as a freshman for the Crimson Tide. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.1 assists while providing solid defense in the backcourt. Bama will face Bradley and the Wildcats on December 20th.
Best passer in the state of Alabama?. dark. Next
Alabama Basketball will have ample opportunities to prove itself early next season, and should be battle-tested long before SEC play starts.