Area Where Alabama Could Have Edge over Vanderbilt in Top-15 Showdown

Nate Oats outlines how his team's non-conference schedule prepared the Tide for another big game.

Jan 21, 2025; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Vanderbilt guard Jason Edwards (1) defends the lane as Alabama guard Labaron Philon (0) attempts a drive at Coleman Coliseum. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Alabama is preparing for its first top-15 SEC matchup of the season when the Crimson Tide travels to Vanderbilt on Wednesday, but it won't be the first top-15 matchup of the season for Alabama.

Nate Oats' squad has the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country according to KenPom. No. 13 Alabama (11-3, 1-0 SEC) played ranked St. John's, Purdue, Illinois, Gonzaga and Arizona during the non-conference slate. No. 11 Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0 SEC) has not played a ranked opponent so far this season.

"Hopefully those games have paid off," Oats said during a Tuesday press conference. "Our guys are used to playing in tight games. Vanderbilt hasn’t had very many tight games. To their credit, they’ve blown everybody out for the most part. The metrics show it, and they’ve been dominant. We’re going to have to make sure they don’t blow us out, but if this game ends up being a tight game, we’ve been in some tight games here.”

Alabama's SEC opener against Kentucky ended up being an 89-74 blowout, but the Tide played in games that came down to the final minutes against quality opponents like St. John's, Purdue, Illinois, Gonzaga and Clemson. The Crimson Tide came out on the losing end against Purdue and Gonzaga but learned valuable lessons in the wins and losses.

"We’ve played some of these tough road games already," Oats said. "We played Arizona up in Birmingham. We played Gonzaga out in Vegas. Even though they weren’t true road games, they were pretty good teams, and I think we had some stuff that we didn't do well in them. Some we got wins. Some we didn’t play as well as we wanted— Purdue, Gonzaga, Arizona. Even the ones we won, we got exposed on some stuff.  So I think our guys have been a little more focused on what we have to work on."

Vanderbilt hasn't faced any big tests with a strength of schedule ranked No. 79, but Oats says the Commodores pass the eye test on film. The metrics also speak to how good Vanderbilt is.

Wednesday night's game will be the first top-15 matchup in Memorial Gymnasium since 1974.

You don't want to miss Wednesday night 😤

🔘 Top 15 showdown
🔘 Red Panda 🐼

🎟️ | https://t.co/7zU9arntz5 pic.twitter.com/FYUGPWJvbE

— Vanderbilt Men's Basketball (@VandyMBB) January 5, 2026

"There's definitely a little extra weight, but we're used to big games," Oats said. "We’ve played them all non-conference. We’ve played them since I’ve been here, played in tons of big games here. I think our guys are ready for it. They’re up to it."