Alabama Basketball invites old foe to an early season confrontation in T-Town

Weeknight Alabama basketball games during college football season don't normally pack Coleman Coliseum. Monday night, Nov. 11 will be different. Will Wade will bring his McNeese State team to Tuscaloosa. Wade should not expect a warm welcome from Crimson Tide fans.

Wade coached the LSU Bengal Tigers for almost five seasons. His record against Alabama teams is 4-7 and 1-4 in Coleman Coliseum.

The 'almost' five-season reference comes from Wade being by LSU, before LSU's NCAA Tournament game in the 2021-22 season. LSU lost that game and Wade slithered away, devoid of shame for blatantly violating NCAA rules. He sat out the 2022-23 season before McNeese State revived his career. He was suspended for the first ten games at McNeese. The Cowboys had a great season, finishing 30-4 and earning an NCAA Tournament bid. In the Big Dance, McNeese lost to Gonzaga, 85-65.

Alabama basketball fans will remember Nate Oats failing to hide his disdain for Wade. No repeat by Oats is expected in November. Alabama fans will not be so cordial. There will no doubt be some 'FBI' symbols seen in the Coleman crowd.

A couple of months ago Wade complained about the people who were hurt in the FBI sting operation that outed him as a serial cheater. Of course, Wade's transgressions are pretty much business as usual now. Commenting on the FBI investigations, Wade said, "good people's lives (were ruined) for very little." Wade is not wrong. Also not wrong are the opinions of those who believe Wade's life was not ruined enough.

The 2024-25 college basketball season officially begins on Nov. 4. It is not known if the McNeese game will be the Crimson Tide's opener. Other out-of-conference contests for '24-25 will be Illinois in Birmingham, a trip to play Purdue in West Lafayette, and Creighton playing Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 14.

The Crimson Tide's 2024 Thanksgiving festivities will take place in Las Vegas. Alabama is in the eight-team Players Era Tournament. Games will take place on Nov. 26, 27 and 29. The other teams are Houston, San Diego State, Notre Dame, Oregon, Rutgers, Texas A&M and Creighton. Each team will earn $1M in NIL funds and the tournament winner will earn an additional $1M.