One of the main goals for Nate Oats and Alabama basketball each year is to win the SEC Championship. It's a goal that Oats has accomplished twice in his six seasons as the head coach in Tuscaloosa, but the team has finished just short of that goal the last two years.
If they are going to do it in 2025-26, they now know their path. On Wednesday, the SEC released its conference opponents for each team. Alabama's draw can be seen below:
SEC Matchups are set.#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/mUyLUPDTez
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) June 18, 2025
Alabama will play home-and-away matchups with three conference opponents: Auburn, Mississippi State, and Tennessee. Alabama played two games against Auburn and Mississippi State last season, but will replace Kentucky with Tennessee this year.
It will mark the fourth straight season Alabama has played a road game at Thompson Boiling Arena in Knoxville.
Alabama gets a somewhat favorable draw in conference pairings
Despite having to play in Knoxville for a fourth straight year, it's hard to complain too much about the draw for Nate Oats and his team.
Kentucky and Arkansas are both widely expected to be two of the best teams in the SEC next season, and both have to come to Tuscaloosa without Alabama making the return trip.
Alabama also draws Missouri, Texas, and Texas A&M all at home this year.
Road trips to Auburn, Tennessee, and Florida will all be treacherous, but those games would be difficult to win regardless of the environment in which they are played.
The SEC is a gauntlet every year, and it takes consistency, taking care of business at home, and stealing a few road games in order to win the league. Alabama is set up with this schedule to do just that.
Oats has assembled another ridiculous non-conference schedule, so as usual, the Crimson Tide will be battle-tested heading into league play.
For now, most pundits are taking a wait-and-see approach with Alabama after so much roster turnover, headlined by the departures of Mark Sears and Grant Nelson. But Labaron Philon's return gives Oats a complete roster, and one that should be good enough to compete for an SEC Championship and a second Final Four in three years.