Alabama Basketball Scheduling Matchup With St. John's

Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide will face the Rick Pitino and the Red Storm on November 8 at Madison Square Garden.

Mar 26, 2025; Newark, NJ, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats during a practice session in preparation for an East Regional semifinal game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Alabama men's basketball is already looking toward next season as the Crimson Tide will face St. John's as part of its 2025-26 non-conference schedule, per CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

The Red Storm will host the Crimson Tide on November 8 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Rothstein reported that there is expected to be a return game in Birmingham during the 2026-27 season.

Yea Alabama, the University of Alabama's NIL collective, first reported that the two programs were "working towards scheduling a game" earlier this morning, and now things are being finalized.

The November 8 basketball road game is the same day as Alabama football's home matchup against LSU. It should make for one of the most exciting days in recent Crimson Tide memory.

This will be Alabama's first game against St. John's since Wimp Sanderson coached the Crimson Tide to a 69-68 NCAA Tournament win on Long Island on March 14, 1982. It's also the first time that Alabama's played in MSG––nicknamed "The World's Most Famous Arena"––since the NIT Tip-off in 2013.

After falling to Florida in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal, Alabama received the 2-seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament and defeated Robert Morris, Saint Mary's and BYU before losing to 1-seed Duke in the Elite Eight. The Crimson Tide finished the season with a 28-9 (13-5 SEC) record. Alabama finished 2024-25 as the No. 6 team in the AP Top 25 and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll.

St. John's had a historic season under Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino as the Red Storm won the Big East regular-season title outright for the first time since 1985 after logging a 31-5 record (18-2 Big East) and also won the conference tournament in the postseason. However, despite being the No. 2 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament, St. John's was upset by 10-seed Arkansas in the Round of 32. Pitino and company finished 2024-25 as the No. 11 team in the AP Top 25 and No. 10 in the Coaches Poll.

The Crimson Tide's 2025-26 non-conference schedule is really starting to unravel as Alabama will face North Dakota on November 3, St. John's on November 8, Arizona in Birmingham on December 13, Purdue in Tuscaloosa on November 13, Illinois on November 19 and Yale (date is unknown at this time). Additionally, head coach Nate Oats and company will be participating in the SEC/ACC Challenge and the Players Era Festival once again, but the Tide’s opponents are unknown at this time.

Read More:

feed