Ranking the top 10 Alabama basketball teams in program history

Posted by author February 10, 2025 Basketball

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The Tuscaloosa News ranked the top 10 Alabama men’s basketball teams in program history.
Rankings were based on factors including regular-season and postseason accomplishments, poll rankings and roster members.

In 112 seasons of Alabama basketball, more than a handful stand out.

The Tuscaloosa News did a deep dive into the history of the Crimson Tide and determined its top 10 teams.

Based on factors including regular-season and postseason accomplishments, poll rankings and roster members, teams were ranked No. 1 through No. 10.

Here’s a look at how the top squads of Alabama basketball stack up.

10. 1929-30

Record: 20-0 (10-0)

No Alabama team other than Hank Crisp’s 1929-30 squad has gone undefeated. That season, the 20-0 Crimson Tide claimed its first regular-season and tournament championships as members of the Southern Conference, to which Alabama belonged to until joining the SEC in 1932.

9. 2003-04

Record: 20-13 (8-8)

Mark Gottfried coached the Crimson Tide to a defeat of top-seeded Stanford in the NCAA Tournament to make the program’s inaugural appearance in the Elite Eight. UA’s historic run ended at the hands of eventual national champion UConn. Sound familiar?

8. 1981-82

Record: 24-7 (12-6)

The game changed for Alabama in 1981 with the signings of then-freshmen Ennis Whatley and Bobby Lee Hurt. Wimp Sanderson made a statement in his second season, taking down Kentucky in Rupp Arena to clinch the SEC Tournament and get an automatic bid to March Madness for its first berth since 1976.

7. 1989-90

Record: 26-9 (12-6)

Claiming back-to-back SEC Tournament titles, Sanderson won SEC Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1990. This team made Alabama’s next-to-last Sweet 16 appearance under Sanderson, who saw the Crimson Tide to six total during his 12 seasons (one of which was vacated by NCAA sanctions).

6. 1955-56

Record: 21-3 (14-0)

The famed “Rocket 8” − led by George Linn and Jerry Harper − became the first Alabama team to finish in the top five of the AP poll. Johnny Dee’s 1955-56 roster also accomplished Alabama’s first and only undefeated run for an SEC regular-season championship.

5. 2020-21

Record: 26-7 (16-2)

This was the year that sparked talk of Alabama as a basketball school. Nate Oats coached the Crimson Tide to SEC regular-season and tournament championships with star Herb Jones, who went on to play for the NBA’s Pelicans in New Orleans.

4. 1986-87

Record: 28-5 (16-2)

Alabama set a school record with 28 wins and a school-best 16 in conference play. UA won the regular-season SEC and tournament titles, then advanced to the NCAA Tournament seeded second, which was the Crimson Tide’s highest seeding prior to 2023.

3. 2023-24

Record: 25-12 (13-5)

It wasn’t Alabama’s most decorated season, but it marked the first Final Four run in program history. Alabama overcame injuries and rim-protection struggles to do what hadn’t been done before while producing the program’s third consensus All-American in Mark Sears. The Crimson Tide finished the season No. 3 after starting 24th.

2. 1975-76

Record: 23-5 (15-3)

A lethal combination headlined by Leon Douglas and Reggie King produced Alabama’s first-ever Sweet 16 run. Under C.M. Newton, UA made its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, falling to eventual national champion Indiana, giving the undefeated Hoosier’s their closest postseason contest in a five-point loss. It was Alabama’s third consecutive year as the regular-season champion of the SEC.

1. 2022-23

Record: 31-6 (16-2)

Alabama has been ranked first in the AP Poll four times in program history, but the 2022-23 season was the first time that it finished the regular season No. 1. Alabama won the SEC regular-season and tournament championships to seal its first-ever No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lights-out, one-and-done freshman Brandon Miller powered this team.

Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.