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Alabama basketball reportedly finalizes details for high-profile 2025 game in Birmingham
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Alabama basketball has reportedly set a date for a key non-conference matchup for its 2025-26 schedule.
The Crimson Tide will take on Arizona on Dec. 13 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein. The Tide and Wildcats last met on Dec. 20, 2023, at Footprint Center (now PHX Arena) in Phoenix, an 87-74 Arizona win.
Alabama, of course, advanced to the Elite 8 for the second straight season before suffering an 85-65 loss to Duke in the East regional final. Nate Oats’ team finished with a 28-9 record for the season, including a 13-5 mark in the SEC.
Arizona was a Sweet 16 team for the second straight season and for the third time since Tommy Lloyd took over the program in 2021. The Wildcats were 24-13 overall and 14-6 in the Big 12, their first year in the conference.
The Tide will be a different team in 2025-26, most notably losing Mark Sears and Grant Nelson (graduation) and Mo Dioubate (transfer to Kentucky). But Latrell Wrightsell, whose season was cut short due to injury, is set to return, as is Aden Holloway, among others.
Oats has added key players from the transfer portal, namely Jalil Bethea (Miami), Taylor Bol Bowen (Florida State), and Noah Williamson (Bucknell).
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
