The highly-anticipated 2024-25 Alabama basketball season is upon us, as the No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide is set to open the season against UNC Asheville tomorrow night in Coleman Coliseum.

Heading into year six under head coach Nate Oats, Alabama is viewed as one of the favorites to win the national championship. The Crimson Tide was picked by the media to win the SEC, and received its highest preseason in ranking in program history in both the AP and the Coaches Poll.

Alabama returns five plays from last year’s Final Four team, including the media and coaches’ pick for preseason SEC player of the year, Mark Sears. Additionally, Grant Nelson was named a preseason All-SEC second team selection.

The Crimson Tide’s first game of the season comes against UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs made the NCAA Tournament as recently as 2023, and lost in the Big South conference championship last season, just falling short of another berth in the Big Dance. In this year’s Big South poll, UNC Asheville was picked fourth.

Alabama played two preseason exhibition games before the season tipped off, both of which were open to the public. The Crimson Tide beat Wake Forest (98-77) in Birmingham on Oct. 18, and beat Memphis (96-88) in Huntsville on Oct. 28.

How to watch, listen and other key information

Date: Monday, Nov. 4
Tipoff time: 8 p.m. CT

Location: Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Venue: Coleman Coliseum
Capacity: 13,474

Television: ESPNU
– Play-by-play: Dave Neal
– Analyst: Richard Hendrix

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network
– Play-by-play: Chris Stewart
– Analyst: Bryan Passink

Satellite radio: CTSN on Sirius / XM 134 or 201

Varsity Network link: LISTEN

Series record: First meeting

Point spread: Alabama -25

Alabama Returning Statistical Leaders:

– Scoring: Mark Sears (21.5 PPG)
– Rebounding: Grant Nelson (5.9 RPG)
– Assists: Mark Sears (4.0 APG)

UNC Asheville Returning Statistical Leaders:

– Scoring: Josh Banks (12.8 PPG)
– Rebounding: Josh Banks (3.4 RPG)
– Assists: Fletcher Abee (1.4 APG)

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