Nate Oats, Alabama get matchup pairing for ACC/SEC challenge that lacks imagination

With the announcement of the pairings for the ACC/SEC challenge on Wednesday, Alabama basketball's schedule is set for the 2025-26 season aside from the bracket for the second annual Players Era Festival in Vegas that wil be played in November.

Unfortunately, the opponent for Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide is a big disappointment.

For the second time in three years, Alabama will face off with Clemson in the ACC/SEC challenge. The Tide and Tigers faced off two years ago in Tuscaloosa, with Clemson beating Alabama 85-77. Four months later, Alabama got revenge for that loss by beating Brad Brownell's Tigers 89-82 in the Elite Eight as Oats led his team to the Final Four for the first time in program history.

So, at least there is recent history to draw back on with the two facing off in the Elite Eight in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. When this game was scheduled in the 2023 ACC/SEC Challenge, it was strictly scheduled because of the recent history on the football field between the two programs. That fact was driven home by ESPN's commentators spending 90% of the game talking about football.

Brownell has done a good job with Clemson, leading the Tigers to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, including the Elite Eight in 2024. Clemson was upset as a 5-seed by McNeese State in the first round of the 2025 tournament.

While the season is still a ways away, Clemson is expected to have a bit of a rebuilding year in 2025-26. Clemson's four leading scorers from last season - Chase Hunter, Ian Schieffelin, Jaedan Zackery, and Viktor Lakhin - were all seniors.

ESPN missed a big opportunity for what would have been an electric matchup by choosing the easy way out instead.

Alabama's 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge opponent should have been Will Wade and NC State

During his time at LSU, Will Wade and Nate Oats had some hotly contested battles. None more famous than the 2021 SEC Tournament Championship, with Alabama escaping with a one-point win over LSU to achieve the first of two SEC doubles under Wade.

Oats scheduled a November game with Wade's McNeese State last year, with the Crimson Tide holding off a good Cowboys team 72-64.

Wade bringing an NC State team into Coleman Coliseum would have been electric, and would have driven more interest than Clemson will. The Wolfpack are expected to be a good team in Wade's first year, with a significant NIL investment allowing Wade to build a strong debut roster.

Alabama walked into Chapel Hill in last year's ACC/SEC Challenge and routed North Carolina, 94-79. The Tide's win was part of a rout for the SEC in the challenge, with the league besting the ACC in 14 of the 16 matchups.