Alabama's non-conference slate for 2026-27 is shaping up to be one of the toughest in college basketball again.
That's just par for the course under Nate Oats.
Oats has traditionally scheduled a gauntlet for his team during the non-conference portion of the schedule to get them ready for the grind of SEC play. This next season won't be any different.
Oats already has Alabama lined up to play St. John's, Houston, and Seton Hall, to go along with a road game against Miami in the ACC-SEC challenge and the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas that will open with a game against Baylor, followed by either Gonzaga or Kansas State, and then an unknown third opponent.
Now, Oats has lined up a series against Ben McCollum's Iowa, with a neutral-site matchup in Des Moines for this coming season and a game in Mobile the following year, per Jon Rothstein:
NEWS: Alabama and Iowa will begin a two-year neutral site series next season in Des Moines, according to a source.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 18, 2026
Return game in Mobile at a later date.https://t.co/kXPkKj1kbZ
Alabama adds Iowa to non-conference schedule for 2026-27 season
McCollum is one of the sharpest young minds in college basketball. After a long run at Division II Northwest Missouri State, McCollum parlayed one successful season at Drake into the Iowa job. The Hawkeyes reaped immediate rewards.
Iowa was one of the darlings of the NCAA Tournament last season, going from a 9-seed all the way to the Elite Eight. Iowa upset defending national champion and 1-seeded Florida in the 2nd Round, and then defeated Nebraska in the Sweet 16 before falling to Illinois in the Elite Eight.
McCollum has Iowa on the rise, and the Hawkeyes will represent another quality non-conference test for Oats and Alabama.
A date was not immediately provided by Rothstein, but Iowa reporter Eliot Clough reported that it will take place on December 21st, which will add to the December gauntlet for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama already has December games scheduled against Miami and St. John's, and you can pencil Houston into that month, too. That game will take place in New York City as part of the Jimmy V Classic, which is traditionally played in December.
The addition of Iowa gives Alabama 10 non-conference games for next season, meaning Oats is three away from the schedule being complete. I would expect the remaining three that Oats schedules to be buy games in Coleman Coliseum.
As of right now, Alabama only has one scheduled buy game (Sam Houston State), and only two non-conference games scheduled in Tuscaloosa (Sam Houston, Seton Hall).
Add us as a preferred source on Google