How to Watch No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 Hofstra in NCAA Tournament First Round

The 2026 NCAA Tournament is officially set!

Midwest Region 4-seed Alabama will face 13-seed Hofstra in the opening Round of 64 on Friday, March 20, in Tampa, Florida.

The Crimson Tide and Pride have never met. In addition to being the underdog, Hofstra has some added pressure to its name, as this is its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. Head coach Speedy Claxton played for Hofstra from 1996-2000, was an assistant there from 2013 up until he took his current position in 2021.

This will be head coach Nate Oats' sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. The only other time that's happened in program history was from 1982-87, but the 1987 appearance was vacated by NCAA penalties.

Alabama was No. 14 at the start of SEC play after finishing its nonconference slate with a 10-3 record. The Crimson Tide was 2-3 in ranked nonconference contests, with wins over then-No. 5 St. John's and then-No. 8 Illinois, but losses to then-No. 2 Purdue, then-No. 12 Gonzaga and then No. 1 Arizona.

But Alabama hit a wall after starting 4-4 in SEC play, as a two-week stretch of being absent from the AP Top 25 broke a ranked streak that started in January 2024. This was the tipping point for Oats and company, as the Crimson Tide proceeded to win eight straight games and clinch a double bye and the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament.

Regardless of the result, UA was projected to be between a 3 and 5-seed for March Madness. Nevertheless, despite earning the double bye, Alabama fell to 15-seed Ole Miss 80-79 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal on Friday.

But all of that is behind Alabama right now, as Hofstra is the first step in its quest for the first National Championship in program history.

How to Watch: 2026 NCAA Tournament Round of 64

Who: 4-seed Alabama (23-9, 13-5 SEC; 0-1 SEC Tournament) vs. 13-seed Hofstra (24-10, 12-6 CAA; 3-0 in CAA Tournament)

What: Alabama's first game of March Madness

When: Friday, March 20, 2:15 p.m. CT

Where: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa Bay, Florida

TV: TruTV

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

SiriusXM: TBD

Series: Alabama and Hofstra have never met.

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

Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide fell to Ole Miss 80-79 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinal on March 13. Alabama, which was the 2-seed, had a double-bye and didn't play until Friday, while the 15-seed Rebels took down 10-seed Texas and 7-seed Georgia in back-to-back days before upsetting Alabama. Ole Miss went up by multiple possessions within the first few minutes, and the Crimson Tide had to play catch-up from there. But UA never took the lead or even tied the game, as it got complacent.

Last time out, Hofstra: After earning the 3-seed in the CAA Tournament, the Pride won three straight games, including a 75-69 victory over Monmouth in the Championship. Hofstra is dancing for the first time since 2001 and just the fifth time in school history.

Alabama Basketball in the NCAA Tournament:

1974-75: Lost in Round of 64 (NCAA Tournament seeding introduced in 1979)
1975-76: Lost in Sweet 16
1981-82: 4-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
1982-83: 6-seed, Lost in Round of 64
1983-84: 9-seed, Lost in Round of 64
1984-85: 7-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
1985-86: 5-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
1986-87 (vacated): 2-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
1988-89: 6-seed, Lost in Round of 64
1989-90: 7-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
1990-91: 4-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
1991-92: 5-seed, Lost in Round of 32
1993-94: 9-seed, Lost in Round of 32
1994-95: 5-seed, Lost in Round of 32
2001-02: 2-seed, Lost in Round of 32
2002-03: 10-seed, Lost in Round of 64
2003-04: 8-seed, Lost in Elite Eight
2004-05: 5-seed, Lost in Round of 64
2005-06: 10-seed, Lost in Round of 32
2011-12: 9-seed, Lost in Round of 32
2017-18: 9-seed, Lost in Round of 32
2020-21: 2-seed, Lost in Sweet 16
2021-22: 6-seed, Lost in Round of 64
2022-23: No. 1 overall seed, Lost in Sweet 16
2023-24: 4-seed, Lost in Final Four
2024-25: 2-seed, Lost in Elite Eight
2025-26: x-seed, Result TBD

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