Alabama Basketball's History vs. 2026 NCAA Tournament Midwest Region

Alabama men's basketball has officially turned the page to the 2026 NCAA Tournament!

Head coach Nate Oats and company were named the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday and will face 13-seed Hofstra on March 20 in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Crimson Tide was labeled as the No. 14 overall seed after the full bracket was announced.

In addition to Hofstra, there are 14 other programs that Alabama could face in either Tampa or Chicago, as these teams are in the Tide's path to the Final Four.

Here's a look at Alabama's history against each of its potential Midwest Region opponents ahead of March Madness.

Round of 64:

13-seed Hofstra

All-Time Series: Alabama and Hofstra have never met.

Last Meeting: This will be the first-ever matchup between the Crimson Tide and Pride.

Could Face in Round of 32:

5-seed Texas Tech

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 2-0, with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 19, 2012.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide took down the Red Raiders 76-64 at home on Nov. 14, 2013. Trevor Releford dominated with 29 points on 11 of 14 from the field, including a 5 of 7 clip from behind the arc. Retin Obasohan stuffed the stat sheet with 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and a jaw-dropping five steals.

12-seed Akron

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 1-0, with the only matchup occurring on Dec. 9, 2000.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide beat the Zips 73-59 in Birmingham on the aforementioned date. Gerald Wallace led the way with 26 points and six boards. Rod Grizzard tallied 15 points, while Erwin Dudley logged 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Could Face in Sweet 16:

1-seed Michigan

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 1-0, with the lone matchup occurring on Nov. 29, 2009.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide outlasted the Wolverines 68-66 at Lake Buena Vista, Florida. JaMychal Green shined with 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. He slammed the go-ahead dunk with five seconds remaining. Mikhail Torrance was everywhere with 11 points, six rebounds, eight assists and a pair of steals.

8-seed Georgia

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 101-54, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 21, 1922.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide fell to Georgia 98-88 on the road on March 3 of this season, ending Alabama's eight-game win streak. The Bulldogs bit UA down low, as they finished the game with 40 points in the paint compared to the Tide's 18. Georgia put up 25 second-chance points, while Alabama tallied nine. Labaron Philon Jr. and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. combined for 45 points, but it wasn't enough compared to Georgia's Kanon Catchings' 32 by himself.

9-seed Saint Louis

All-Time Series: Saint Louis leads 4-1, with the first matchup occurring on Dec 10, 1953.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide's lone win against the Billikens came by a 62-57 final score in Las Vegas on Nov. 23, 2016. Braxton Key had an Alabama-best 16 points, with two of his three 3-pointers coming during a 17-3 game-ending run. Dazon Ingram was the only other Tide player with double figures, as he logged 10 points and five rebounds.

16-seed Howard

All-Time Series: Alabama has never faced Howard.

Last Meeting: This would be the first-ever matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Bison.

Could Face in Elite Eight:

2-seed Iowa State

All-Time Series: Iowa State leads 2-1, with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 23, 2007.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide fell to the Cyclones 104-89 on Nov. 28, 2019, at the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas. John Petty Jr. did his part for UA, as he scored 34 points on 11-for-22 from the field, including 6-for-9 from deep, plus 12 rebounds (eight offensive), three steals and a block. James Bolden had 10 points and was the only other Alabama player to reach double digits. Meanwhile, Iowa State had five players with 11-plus points, including 23, 11 rebounds and nine assists by current two-time NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton.

3-seed Virginia

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 4-3, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 18, 1928.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide lost to the Cavaliers 86-83 on the road on Dec. 22, 1992. James "Hollywood" Robinson put up 24 points and nine rebounds (five offensive), while Jason Caffey dropped 17 and seven (three offensive), but the Alabama duo missed a combined 25 field goal attempts. The Cavaliers had three players combine for 58 points and the trio missed a total of 16 shots.

6-seed Tennessee

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 82-75, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 6, 1914

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide took down the Volunteers 71-69 on the road on Feb. 28. The Crimson Tide overcame a mountainous 13-point deficit, thanks to an incredible second-half effort on both ends of the floor. Head coach Nate Oats crowned Aiden Sherrell "the MVP," but Latrell Wrightsell Jr. finished with a team-high 25 points. Additionally, mLabaron Philon Jr., who had 13 of UA's final 18 points, hit the game-winning shot with under 23 seconds remaining. It was Alabama's first lead of the entire game, but it's all the Tide needed to get out of Knoxville with its eighth consecutive win.

7-seed Kentucky

All-Time Series: Kentucky leads 114-44 with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 13, 1923.

Last Meeting: Following Jan. 3's 89-74 SEC-opening home win over Kentucky, Alabama joined a small handful of SEC programs to take down the Wildcats four consecutive times. Aden Holloway scored 26 points. Labaron Philon Jr. also shined with 13 points in the second half alone — ending Kentucky's comeback effort down the stretch. Other standout performances from the Crimson Tide include 14 points from Houston Mallette, 11 points and nine rebounds from Amari Allen and a season-high 10 points from Noah Williamson.

10-seed Santa Clara

All-Time Series: Alabama and Santa Clara have never met.

Last Meeting: This would be the first-ever matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Broncos.

11-seed Miami (Ohio)/SMU

All-Time Series vs. Miami-Ohio: Alabama leads 2-0, with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 22, 1979.

Last Meeting vs. Miami-Ohio: The Crimson Tide outlasted the RedHawks 64-58 on Nov. 15, 2005. Chuck Davis was a force to be reckoned with, as he led Alabama in points (19), rebounds (9), tied for the most blocks (2) and was second in assists (4).

Alabama has never faced SMU.

14-seed Wright State

All-Time Series: Alabama and Wright State have never met.

Last Meeting: This would be the first-ever matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Raiders.

15-seed Tennessee State

All-Time Series: Alabama leads 3-0, with the first matchup occurring on Dec. 18, 2004.

Last Meeting: The Crimson Tide cruised past the Tigers 75-66 at home on Dec. 17, 2008. Tennessee State didn't have an answer for Alonzo Gee, who scored 24 points for Alabama on 10 of 16 shooting. The bench also played a starring role, as Yamene Coleman (14 points) and Ronald Steele (13) combined for 27 points. Coleman led UA with 14 rebounds, while Steele dished a team-high six assists.

All Opponents Combined

(Excluding Hofstra, Howard, Santa Clara, SMU and Wright State, all of which Alabama has never faced)

All-Time Games: Alabama 316, Opponents 178
All-Time Overall Series: Alabama 7, Opponents 4
Last Meeting: Alabama 8, Opponents 3

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