Alabama wrapped up its three-game exhibition run Thursday night in Birmingham with one more tight finish, outlasting Auburn 87-85 in “The Feud” at Legacy Arena to close the preseason at 3-0.
The wins over Furman, Ole Miss and Auburn gave Nate Oats a first look at where his team stands, and the answer is encouraging even with plenty still left to clean up. Alabama was without several key pieces throughout the exhibition slate, including Aden Holloway and Anderson Diaz, two of the team’s three primary ball handlers, who did not play in any of the three games. Jaxon Richardson missed two of the three, while Cole Cloer sat out Thursday’s game against Auburn after flashing in the preseason.
That absence list pushed a lot of the attention toward Alabama’s newcomers, especially a freshman group that arrived in Tuscaloosa with serious buzz. The Tide’s 2026 class ranked No. 6 in the 247 composite, and through these exhibitions, that ranking has looked justified.
Against Auburn, Qayden Samuels and Tarris Bouie both made their mark in the win. Samuels wasn’t efficient, finishing 6-of-19 from the floor, but he still poured in 20 points and finished a game-best +17. Bouie brought his usual edge, scoring 14 points and pulling down 7 rebounds.
Richardson was the other freshman who jumped off the page. He finally got on the floor after missing the first two exhibitions, and although he was on a pitch count while easing back in, his 10-minute cameo showed exactly why Oats is so high on him. Richardson took on Tahaad Pettiford defensively and recorded two stocks, with his work on that end standing out right away.
“He’s got the potential to be one of the best, if not the best defender I’ve ever coached, which is saying something, because I had Herb Jones for two years," Oats said of Richardson...." The version that you saw tonight is him trying to get back, just get him a little bit of in-game.
It’s not happening. Like, he was not anything close to what you’re going to see.
When he’s been healthy in practice, he’s been elite."
Diaz still hasn’t appeared in an exhibition, and Cloer remains a part of the freshman conversation even though he is not technically in that 2026 class. He reclassified late last cycle, enrolled at NC State for the spring semester, and was not eligible to play there anyway because of injury. Alabama is treating him like a freshman, and the preseason has only reinforced why.
The comparisons to Alabama’s 2022 freshman group are impossible to ignore. That team, led by Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney, powered the Crimson Tide to the best regular season in program history, an SEC regular season title, an SEC tournament title and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. This group may not have a single star on Miller’s level, but the talent is real, and the upside is obvious.
Oats knows there will be bumps along the way, but he also sees a roster with enough depth and veteran help to survive them. The freshmen are raw now. The ceiling is what makes this group so interesting.
"I think those guys are going to just get significantly better throughout the year because they haven’t played college basketball yet," Oats said. "So to me, that’s one of the upsides of going with some freshmen is they got a big gap between where they currently are and what their potential is, and I think we can really work with them and close that gap, get them playing really good basketball by SEC play.
"But they’re talented. I think you see some of the stuff that they’re capable of doing in these three exhibition games.”
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Alabama's New Rotation Already Has A Few Names Fans Need To Watch
The first look at Alabamas preseason rotation came in a familiar setting, with the Tide meeting Auburn in an exhibition game in Birmingham as part of the build-up to the regular season. Even without the result carrying any record-book weight, the game offered an early peek at how Nate Oats may sort through his roster, and the opening stretches were heavy on the kind of minute-by-minute clues fans tend to track this time of year.
What stood out most was how quickly some names began to separate themselves in the box score, with the first-half numbers showing who was getting touches, who was defending well and who was already earning extended run. There is still plenty of time for roles to shift before the games start counting, but this was exactly the sort of preseason test that can shape the conversation around Alabamas rotation for weeks to come. [Read more 🡒]
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Alabama Showed Something Tide Fans Will Love In Auburn Clash
Alabama got a useful early test in Birmingham and passed it with a narrow 87-85 win over Auburn in an exhibition game at Legacy Arena. The Tide showed a balanced scoring punch, with four players reaching double figures and Amari Allen leading the way with 23 points, a sign of depth that should catch the attention of Alabama fans as the season approaches.
Auburn made it plenty uncomfortable, with Kevin Overton pouring in 26 points and the game turning chippy at times as the physicality ramped up. Tahaad Pettiford and Bukky Oboye both fouled out in the scuffle-filled matchup, leaving plenty to sort through for both sides, but Alabamas ability to answer in a game like this is exactly the kind of takeaway Tide supporters will like. [Read more 🡒]