The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represents the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. The program plays in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC). Among SEC teams it trails only long-time basketball powerhouse

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

in SEC tournament titles, is third behind Kentucky and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

in SEC regular season conference titles, and is fourth behind Kentucky,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in total wins. Alabama was retroactively recognized as the pre- NCAA tournament national champion for the 1929–30 season by the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. The team has appeared in the NCAA tournament 25 times, most recently in

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, and has made ten Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights, and one Final Four in the tournament. Alabama's current head coach is Nate Oats. The men's basketball program has spent most of its history in the shadow of Alabama's football team, but has risen in stature over the past several decades. The program was notable as a regular conference basketball contender in the 1980s and early 1990s under the direction of coach Wimp Sanderson and in the 1970s under coach C. M. Newton. Under former coach

Mark Gottfried Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach, basketball podcaster, and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketba ...

, the team achieved a No. 1 national ranking briefly in 2003. In the 2003–04 season, the team defeated #1-seeded

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in the NCAA tournament, and reached the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

round for the first time where they lost to the eventual national champion,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. Under Nate Oats, the team earned SEC titles in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

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. In the latter year, the Crimson Tide achieved their best-ever season in program history to that point, earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. They fell to the eventual runner-up,

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

, in the Sweet Sixteen. In the 2024 NCAA tournament, they defeated #1-seeded

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the Sweet Sixteen, and defeated #6-seeded Clemson in the Elite Eight to advance to their first Final Four appearance in the school's history where they lost to the eventual national champion, UConn.

History

Former coaches with at least five years with the Crimson Tide include the following: Hank Crisp (1923–1942, 1945–1946), Hayden Riley (1960–1968), C. M. Newton (1968–1980), Wimp Sanderson (1980–1992) – Alabama's winningest coach (.692), David Hobbs (1992–1998),

(1998–2009), and Anthony Grant (2009–2015). Other coaches include

John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, ...

, D.V. Graves,

Floyd Burdette Floyd B. Burdette (September 5, 1914 – December 1, 1995) was a head coach for both the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball, Alabama and Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks men's basketball, Tennessee–Martin Skyhawks men's basketball teams. Born in M ...

, and Charles A. Bernier.

C. M. Newton

In 1968, legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who was also Alabama's athletic director, called

men's basketball coach

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. Nicknamed the "Baron of the Bluegrass", he coached the University of Kentucky Wildcats to four NCAA Division I men's basketball tournam ...

looking for someone to turn around Alabama's basketball program. Rupp recommended C. M. Newton, a former backup player at Kentucky who had been at

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780 and is the oldest university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is Higher educ ...

for 12 years. In 12 seasons at Alabama, Newton led the Tide to a record of 211–123. The Crimson Tide won three straight SEC titles under Newton (1974, 1975, and 1976), the only program besides Kentucky to accomplish this feat. Newton also guided Alabama to four NIT and two NCAA Men's Division I Championship tournament berths, prompting the school to name a recruiting suite in his honor in 2006. Just as he did at Transylvania, Newton recruited Alabama's first black player, Wendell Hudson, in 1969, integrating his second team in as many coaching stops.

Wimp Sanderson

Newton resigned as head coach after the 1980–81 season to become assistant commissioner of the SEC. He was succeeded by his top assistant, Wimp Sanderson. He had been at Alabama since 1960 as a graduate assistant to Newton's predecessor, Hayden Riley; he was named a full-fledged assistant in 1961. In 12 years as head coach his teams averaged 21.8 wins a year, with a 267–119 record, and they won 4 SEC tournaments. They played in one NIT and eight NCAA tournaments making the "Sweet 16" five times. Sanderson is the only coach in Alabama history to win 200 or more games in his first 10 years. He was the SEC Coach of the Year in 1987, 1989 and 1990, and was the National Coach of the Year in 1987. Sanderson was best known for wearing garish plaid

sports jacket A sport coat, also called a sport jacket (or sports coat or sports jacket in American English), is a men's smart casual lounge jacket designed to be worn on its own without matching trousers, traditionally for sporting purposes. Styles, fabrics, ...

s on the sidelines. At one point, Coleman Coliseum was known as the "Plaid Palace", and the mid-court logo was painted in a crimson-and-white plaid pattern.

David Hobbs

Hobbs was hired at Alabama as an assistant coach for Wimp Sanderson in 1985 and spent seven years as an assistant in Tuscaloosa helping the Crimson Tide win one SEC Championship and four SEC Tournament crowns while the Tide made four appearances in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16. As an assistant, he had the opportunity to coach such All-SEC performers as

Robert Horry Robert Keith Horry ( ; born August 25, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and current sports commentator. Horry was a member of seven championship winning teams and is considered, by some, to be one of the most clutch sho ...

, James "Hollywood" Robinson and

Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...

. When Sanderson left Alabama following the 1992 season, Hobbs was named head coach. In his first season, the Tide finished 16–13 and advanced to the NIT. In 1994 and 1995, Alabama recorded 20-win seasons and advanced to the NCAA tournament behind the play of future NBA All-Star Antonio McDyess. In 1996, Hobbs led UA to a 19–13 mark and a berth in the NIT Final Four. He resigned his post following the 1998 season after compiling a 110–76 (.594) career record and producing nine All-SEC players.

Mark Gottfried

served as the Crimson Tide's head coach from the 1998–99 season until midway through the 2008–09 season. Gottfried played 3 seasons of basketball at Alabama under Wimp Sanderson, and the Crimson Tide advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in each of those seasons. He was hired by Alabama in March 1998 after coaching at Murray State for three seasons. The Crimson Tide achieved the highest pinnacle ever for the school in both the NCAA Championship tournament and the Associated Press Poll reaching the Elite Eight in the tournament in 2004 and reaching the No. 1 spot in the nation in the AP poll in 2002, both under Mark Gottfried's command. Gottfried led the Tide to its only SEC Championship under his watch during the 2001–02 season, although the team never won a conference tournament championship during his tenure. For his efforts in 2002, Gottfried was named SEC Coach of the Year by both the Associated Press and his fellow Southeastern Conference coaches. Perhaps his biggest accomplishment as coach at Alabama was leading the Crimson Tide to five consecutive NCAA tournaments from 2002 to 2006, another first for the school that occurred under his watch. Gottfried resigned on January 26, 2009, with 11 regular season games still remaining on the team's schedule. Then Athletic Director Mal Moore named long-time Alabama assistant and former player, Philip Pearson as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

Anthony Grant

On March 27, 2009 Anthony Grant agreed in principle to become the 20th Crimson Tide head men's basketball coach. Grant came to Alabama after serving as the head coach at VCU from 2006 to 2009. After a mediocre first season, Grant led the veteran 2010–11 team to a SEC West title and a 2nd-place finish in the 2011 NIT. The 2011–12 team endured the suspensions of several star players to finish with a 21–12 record and a berth in the

2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2011-12 ...

, where they lost in the round of 64 to Creighton. This was the Crimson Tide's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2006. In March 2015, Grant was fired by Alabama after six seasons. Assistant coach John Brannen served as interim head coach for the 2015 NIT tournament.

Avery Johnson

On April 5, 2015, Avery Johnson agreed to become Alabama's next head coach. The former

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coach said he was attracted to the position because he perceived it as "a big challenge" in that Alabama is not a "perennial favorite" and has never won a championship before. Johnson's 2017–18 team finished with a 20–16 (8–10) record and was invited to the NCAA tournament. The next season, the Tide finished 18–16 (8–10) and Johnson was let go at the end of the campaign.

Nate Oats

On March 27, 2019, Nate Oats was named Alabama's next head coach. Oats was previously the coach for the

Buffalo Bulls The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University at Buffalo (UB) in Buffalo, New York. The Bulls compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of Mid-Ame ...

, and had led them to three NCAA tournament appearances in the past four years. After a 16–15 record in his first season in 2019–20, Oats' second season brought Alabama the first SEC regular-season title since 2002 and the first SEC tournament title since 1991. The Tide were a No. 2 seed in the 2021 tournament, where they fell to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in overtime in the Sweet Sixteen. Then in

, Oats coached Alabama to their second SEC regular season and tournament championship in three years. Alabama returned as the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the second time under Oats tenure before falling to

who advanced to the National Championship game. In

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Alabama once again made the NCAA tournament and advanced to their second Elite Eight in program history after defeating

in the Sweet Sixteen. Bama beat Clemson in the West Region finals to advance to the Final Four for the first time in program history. By the end of the 2024–25 season, Oats had led Alabama to two Sweet Sixteen finishes, one Elite Eight finish, and one Final Four, the most sustained runs of tournament success by the school. Oats also holds the best record against AP top 10 teams in Alabama history.

Roster

Arena

The Crimson Tide basketball team practices and plays in Coleman Coliseum, a multi-purpose arena on the UA campus in Tuscaloosa. The arena was built for $4.2 million and opened in 1968 as a replacement for the aging Foster Auditorium. In 2005, the building underwent a renovation in which more seats were added. The arena officially seats 15,314 people. Coleman Coliseum was named for Jefferson Jackson Coleman, a prominent alumnus and longtime supporter of the University of Alabama. Until his death in 1995, he was the only person that had attended every Alabama football

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

, starting with the

Rose Bowl Game The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, traditionally played on January 1 (New Year's Day) at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on ...

on January 1, 1926. Prior to 1990, the building was known as ''Memorial Coliseum''.

Fan support

Mark's Madness

"Mark's Madness" was a student organization named after former Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried, which is also a play on the nickname for the NCAA basketball tournament, "March Madness". It was created by a group of Alabama students in January 2000 in an attempt to create a more exciting atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum. During the Gottfried era, the Crimson Tide was an impressive 137-27 (.835) in Coleman Coliseum. Mark's Madness was the largest student organization on campus during its time. The end of Mark Gottfried's tenure in early 2009 also meant the end of the Mark's Madness name.

Crimson Chaos

After Coach Anthony Grant was hired, a group of senior students approached the UA Marketing Department in the summer 2009 about resurrecting the student section organization. During the first exhibition game of the 2009 season, it was announced that the new name of the student organization for supporting Alabama basketball would be "Crimson Chaos". As Crimson Chaos entered its second year, it officially registered as a

student group and adopted a new format. In addition to supporting men's basketball, Crimson Chaos expanded to support all University of Alabama sports, becoming the official student group of athletics at the university. The group also tried new things to make the atmosphere in Coleman Coliseum as intimidating as it was in previous years, including adding the "Roll Tide Roller Coaster". The newly energized environment Crimson Chaos created in Coleman Coliseum helped the Tide complete an undefeated season at home (for the 2010–11 season) with a 19–0 record, including wins over then #12

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

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. The group's popularity garnered even more attention and praise thanks to the late superfan Luke “Fluff” Ratliff. He became the Crimson Chaos president and wore a plaid jacket to almost every game. He was loved by many for his light hearted humor and happy-go-lucky attitude. He inspired many people to follow and share in his passion for the tide hoops program and also other athletic teams around campus. He sparked the basketball program under Coach Nate Oats and continues to be an inspiration to so many. There is a plaque engraved to honor Fluff in the dedicated chair for all Crimson Chaos Presidents who come after him.

Post-season results

NCAA tournament

Alabama has appeared in the NCAA tournament 26 times. It has reached the Sweet Sixteen twelve times, the

three times, and the

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

once. Alabama has an overall NCAA tournament record of 32–26.

NIT appearances

Alabama has appeared in 16

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

s, reaching the championship game on two occasions. Alabama has an overall NIT record of 24–19.

All-time leaders

Former players

Alabama has seen its stars go on to win nine NBA Championships and earn six

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

selections, six All-Defensive Team honors, three All-Rookie honors and more than $390 million in the NBA. Former Alabama players have gone on to suit up in nearly 10,000 NBA games and have scored more than 90,000 cumulative points.

Tide alumni currently in the NBA

Source: Basketball Reference

Tide alumni in international leagues

* Retin Obasohan (born 1993), basketball player for Derthona Basket of the Italian LBA * Levi Randolph (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

All-Americans

* Lindy Hood; 1930 * Jim Homer; 1947 *

Jerry Harper Jerry "Moose" Harper (August 4, 1934 – September 16, 2001) was an American basketball player best known for his collegiate career at the University of Alabama between 1952 and 1956. Harper, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, was and played the ...

; 1955 & 1956 * George Linn; 1956 * Jack Kubiszyn; 1958 * Bob Andrews; 1965 * Wendell Hudson; 1973 *

Leon Douglas Leon Douglas (born August 26, 1954) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. He played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) before transitioning to an extensive professional career overseas in Europe. ...

; 1973, 1975 & 1976 * Charles Cleveland; 1975 *

T. R. Dunn Theodore Roosevelt Dunn (born February 1, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A star at the University of Alab ...

; 1974 & 1977 * Reggie King; 1976, 1978 & 1979 * Eddie Phillips; 1980 & 1982 * Ennis Whatley; 1983 * Derrick McKey; 1987 * James Robinson; 1991 & 1993 * Erwin Dudley; 2002 * Mo Williams; 2002 * Kennedy Winston; 2005 * Ronald Steele; 2006 * Richard Hendrix; 2008 * Alonzo Gee; 2009 * Collin Sexton; 2018 * Brandon Miller; 2023 * Mark Sears; 2024

All-time record vs. current SEC teams

Retired numbers

Alabama has retired one jersey number, 20 for Wendell Hudson (F), who played Forward for Alabama 1969–1973.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alabama Crimson Tide Men's Basketball