Alabama and Auburn are set to take the preseason version of the Iron Bowl of Basketball to Birmingham.
Per On3’s Justin Hokanson, the Crimson Tide and Tigers will meet in an exhibition on Oct. 22 at Legacy Arena. The game will not count toward either team’s record, but Hokanson said that if it sells out, both programs will clear over six figures.
It gives Alabama a second exhibition on the calendar. Nate Oats’ team will also face Ole Miss in Boutwell Auditorium in Birmingham on Oct. 15.
The matchup adds another chapter to a series Alabama has controlled for a long time. The Crimson Tide lead Auburn 103-69 all time, with the first meeting coming on Feb.
28, 1924. Alabama is also riding a three-game winning streak in the series.
That streak includes a 96-84 home win over Auburn in the 2025-26 regular-season finale on March 7. The victory locked up the No. 2 seed in the SEC Tournament for Alabama, which needed the result to break a tie with Arkansas in the conference standings. Arkansas is now the No. 3 seed.
Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon Jr. each finished with 21 points in that game. Alabama did plenty of damage getting downhill, outscoring Auburn 58-32 in the paint. The Crimson Tide also won the glass 42-28, including 19 offensive rebounds that turned into 24 second-chance points.
The SEC schedule release came four days after Alabama learned its full non-conference slate, which means the Crimson Tide’s 2026-27 schedule is now complete.
In Other News...
ESPN Just Added More Heat To Alabama Vs Georgia
ESPN is leaning all the way into the Alabama-Georgia build-up, announcing a six-part documentary titled Saban that will premiere on Oct. 8, 2026, just two days before the Tide and Bulldogs meet on Oct. 10. The timing turns an already charged SEC showdown into something with a little extra institutional weight, especially with Nick Saban still a familiar face around the sport as an ESPN College GameDay analyst.
Saban retired after the 2023 season, but his presence still hangs over every major Alabama conversation, and this project only sharpens that backdrop. A documentary centered on the coach who defined an era at Alabama landing right before Georgia comes to town gives the matchup another layer of history, even if the full scope of the series will have to wait until the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Nate Oats Faces New Heat Over Alabama Basketball Culture
The questions around Alabama basketballs culture have not gone away since the 2023 murder of Jamea Harris, a case that put the program under a harsh spotlight and tied two former players to the aftermath. Michael Davis has been convicted, Darius Miles is still awaiting trial, and the focus has drifted beyond the courtroom to how the program operated around those players in the first place, from access to the team environment to what people inside the locker room may have understood about conduct that should never have been overlooked.
For Nate Oats, the issue is no longer just about wins and losses. It is about what kind of standard was in place, how much responsibility a head coach carries for the behavior and culture around his roster, and why the warning signs around firearms and team dynamics did not lead to a cleaner break sooner. Even with the legal process still playing out, Alabama is left dealing with a far bigger and more uncomfortable conversation about what its basketball program allowed to exist around it. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Fans Need To Watch Where This SEC Eligibility Fight Goes
A Texas judges temporary restraining order has put the Southeastern Conferences eligibility rule under an unusual spotlight, blocking the leagues ban on players who have gone professional from returning to college sports. The order covers more than 40 players in the lawsuit and also requires the NCAA to open the transfer portal for a week, creating a rare window in which the usual rules around movement and eligibility are being tested in court.
For Alabama fans, the key is less about the legal jargon than where this fight could lead next. The SEC is not the only league with a similar policy, as the ACC and Mountain West have passed comparable rules, but for now the courts action applies only to the SEC. If the case keeps moving, it could influence how quickly teams are forced to adjust to a landscape that may no longer be as fixed as it once seemed. [Read more 🡒]