Alabama gets its second test of the season Friday night, and this one brings a familiar face back to Coleman.
After opening with a 96-74 win over Sam Houston on Tuesday, Nate Oats and the No. 20 Crimson Tide are back home to face Arkansas State, a team that arrives with some early momentum of its own after edging Toledo by one point on Monday. The Red Wolves are the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt, and they’ll ask a deep guard group to keep pace with Alabama’s tempo.
The matchup also puts Alabama against former assistant Ryan Pannone, who was on Oats’ staff from 2023-25 and guided Arkansas State to a 20-win season last year. The expectation around the Red Wolves is that year two could bring an even bigger jump, with the program viewed as a legitimate NCAA Tournament threat.
Arkansas State’s backcourt is led by former D-II standout Tameron Ferguson, who wasted no time making an impression in his Red Wolves debut with 20 points.
For Alabama, the rotation is nearly complete. The lone holdout is star guard Aden Holloway, who is serving the final game of his suspension and will make his 2026-27 debut next week. Anderson Diaz and Cole Cloer, both of whom had been dealing with injuries, played against Sam Houston and are expected to be available again.
FanDuel has Alabama as a heavy favorite, with the Crimson Tide listed at -25.5 and the over/under set at 175.5.
The game will air on SEC Network+, with Roger Hoover handling play-by-play and Mo Finley on analysis. On radio, Chris Stewart and former Tide guard Bryan Passink will have the call.
This is the fifth meeting all-time between Alabama and Arkansas State, and the Crimson Tide has won all four previous matchups. Oats’ teams have already seen the Red Wolves twice, winning 88-79 in 2024 and 89-65 in 2023.
Arkansas State was coached in those games by another former Oats assistant, Bryan Hodgson, who is now at Providence. Alabama also beat the Red Wolves in the 2016 Rocket City Classic in Huntsville and in the first meeting in 1969.
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