The 2026-27 college basketball season opens Tuesday night in Tuscaloosa, where No. 20 Alabama hosts Sam Houston to start another year under Nate Oats.
For Alabama, this is familiar territory. Oats dropped his first game as the Crimson Tide’s head coach back in 2019 against Penn, but since then he has won six straight season openers. That number matters again here, because Alabama is also carrying a six-year run of preseason AP Top 25 recognition into this season.
The roster looks nothing like last year’s group. Alabama brought in nine newcomers, and size jumps off the page immediately: 12 of the 15 players on the roster are at least 6-foot-6.
That should give the Crimson Tide help in areas that have been a problem for a while, though rebounding “still isn't fixed” after three October exhibitions. Tuesday’s matchup will offer the first real chance to see whether that part of the game has moved in the right direction.
Sam Houston arrives with a clean slate as well. The Bearkats went 0-0 in preseason play after falling 88-76 at Stephen F.
Austin in their lone exhibition on Oct. 23.
They shot 34.6 percent from the field in that game. Chris Mudge’s team finished last season 22-12 overall and 13-7 in Conference USA, marking the program’s most wins since 2014-15, when it went 26-9.
The matchup history between these teams is tiny. Alabama and Sam Houston have met only once, with the Crimson Tide taking a 77-58 win in Oklahoma City on Dec.
27, 1997. In that game, Brian Williams led Alabama with 16.1 points per game that season, Demetrius Jones averaged 8.3 rebounds, and Chauncey Jones posted 3.5 assists per game.
Alabama’s own preseason was clean and convincing. The Crimson Tide went 3-0 in exhibitions, beating Furman, Ole Miss and Auburn. They opened last season ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25, finished there, and reached a fourth straight Sweet 16 before losing to eventual national champion Michigan.
Tipoff is set for Tuesday evening, with the Crimson Tide Sports Network carrying the radio broadcast. Chris Stewart will handle play-by-play, Bryan Passink will be the analyst, and Roger Hoover will be on the sideline. The pregame show begins one hour before tipoff.
In Other News...
Alabama Just Got An Early Reality Check For LSU Showdown
The first betting line for Alabamas Week 10 trip to LSU already says plenty about how close this rivalry matchup is expected to be. Both teams are ranked, both are sitting on similar records, and both come in off bye weeks, which only adds to the sense that this one could carry real weight in the College Football Playoff race and the SEC title picture.
Even with Alabama holding a 58-27-5 edge in the series and a three-game winning streak in the rivalry, the opening number has LSU favored by 4 points. For a game this early on the 2026 schedule, it is a reminder that the Tigers are expected to bring plenty of punch at home, and that Alabama may already have a little extra motivation as the matchup starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Derrick Henry Keeps Building An All Time Case Alabama Fans Love
Derrick Henry kept adding to a rsum that already sits in rare company, even in a Ravens loss to the Bills. The former Alabama star scored again Sunday, and with it came another benchmark for a career that keeps climbing the all-time lists, the kind of production Crimson Tide fans have long watched with pride as he continues to deliver on Sundays.
The touchdown was Henrys 40th rushing score with two different franchises, putting him alongside Marcus Allen and Marshall Faulk in that class, according to NFL and ESPN Insights. It also gave him 136 career touchdowns, tying Faulk for seventh-most in NFL history, another reminder that Henrys place in the record book is no longer a future conversation but an ongoing one. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Just Added More Pressure To A Huge Stretch For Nate Oats
Zion Greens commitment gives Alabama basketball another headline in the 2027 class, and it arrives at a time when Nate Oats could use every bit of momentum he can get. The five-star power forward joins Chase Lumpkin in that group, a sign that Alabama is still landing premium talent while the program continues to sit near the top of the national conversation. The Crimson Tide also climbed one spot to No. 9 in the AP Poll, keeping the profile high as the season moves deeper into a critical stretch.
The timing matters because the pressure around Alabama is only growing. The Tide opened as a 3.5-point underdog against LSU before the line swung heavily in the Tigers favor, and there are always ripple effects around recruiting when coaching changes hit elsewhere, including Florida State moving on from Mike Norvell. Even with Alabama soccers regular-season finale loss to Mississippi State, the broader athletic department remains in the spotlight, and Oats now has another prized recruit attached to a stretch where every result seems to carry extra weight. [Read more 🡒]