Alabama Basketball Announces Charity Exhibition Game Against Southern Illinois

For the third time in four years, the Alabama men's basketball team will in an exhibition game for charity prior to the start of its regular season.

Friday morning, it announced that the Crimson Tide will host Southern Illinois on Oct. 29 at Foster Auditorium. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. CT.

Proceeds from the game between the Crimson Tide and Salukis will go to the Community Service Programs of West Alabama

Alabama is set to host Longwood on Nov. 7, and Liberty on Nov. 11. Both games will be played a Coleman Coliseum.

The exhibition takes advantage of an NCAA rule allowing teams to use one of its two official preseason games against a Division I opponent for the purposes of raising funds for a catastrophic event, COVID-19 relief efforts, and/or social justice initiatives.

Last year, Alabama defeated Louisiana 73-68 on Oct. 24. In 2019, it won against Georgia Tech, 93-65, on Oct. 27.

The Crimson Tide last faced the Salukis in 2004. Alabama is 2-0 in the series.

Southern Illinois is coming off a 16-15 season, and returns seven players. The Salukis are led by seniors Marcus Domask and Lance Jones.

Nate Oats' team is coming off a successful summer trip to Europe, and is widely ranked by preseason publications and media services including Blue Ribbon College Yearbook (No. 13), The Field of 68 (No. 17), and CBS Sports (No. 23).

The Crimson Tide returns five players and three starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team that bowed out in the first round in San Diego. However, senior Jahvon Quinerly, the Tide’s second-leading scorer last season, is still recovering from a knee injury suffered against Notre Dame.

SEC media days for basketball is next Tuesday and Wednesday in Birmingham.

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