Report: Alabama Basketball Scheduling Two-Year, Neutral-Site Series vs. Arizona

The Crimson Tide boasts a 3-1 all-time record against the Wildcats.

Joey Blackwell | Mar 27, 2023

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Alabama Crimson Tide

According to multiple reports, Alabama basketball and Arizona are in the process of finalizing a neutral-site series between the programs for next two seasons.

According to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Monday morning, the first game between the two programs is slated to take place on Dec. 20 at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Ariz.

NEWS: Alabama and Arizona are finalizing an agreement to play a neutral site game on December 20th at Footprint Center in Phoenix, according to multiple sources.https://t.co/3zmMO1pztc
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 27, 2023

Later in the day on Monday, a second report by the Arizona Daily Star stated that the Wildcats will travel to play in Birmingham, Ala. against the Crimson Tide in the 2024-25 season. A date for that contest has yet to be determined. While there is no official word that Arizona would be Alabama's opponent in the 2024 C.M. Newton Classic, it would seem like that is most likely the case.

In 2021 and 2022, Alabama scheduled a neutral-site series with Gonzaga, with the Crimson Tide traveling to Seattle in December of 2021 and the Bulldogs making their way to Birmingham, Ala. in 2022.

Both the Crimson Tide and the Wildcats were placed in the South Region of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with Alabama as the bracket's 1-seed and Arizona as its 2-seed. The Crimson Tide was ousted from the tournament last Friday after losing to 5-seed San Diego State in the Sweet 16 while the Wildcats lost to 15-seed Princeton in the first round.

All-time, Alabama leads the series between the two programs with three wins compared to one loss. The two first met during the 1985 NCAA Tournament, where the Crimson Tide prevailed 50-41 in the first round. The two programs met in March Madness a second time in 1990, with Alabama winning once again winning — this time in the second round by a final score of 77-55.

In 2017 and 2018, the Crimson Tide and the Wildcats played a home-and-home series, with the first game taking place on Dec. 9, 2017 in Tucson, Ariz. The game marked the only win of the series for Arizona, with the Wildcats winning 88-82. On Dec. 9 the following year, the Crimson Tide won the most recent game between the two programs, 76-73 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Joey Blackwell is an award-winning journalist and assistant editor for BamaCentral and has covered the Crimson Tide since 2018. He primarily covers Alabama football, men's basketball and baseball, but also covers a wide variety of other sports. Joey earned his bachelor's degree in History from Birmingham-Southern College in 2014 before graduating summa cum laude from the University of Alabama in 2020 with a degree in News Media. He has also been featured in a variety of college football magazines, including Lindy's Sports and BamaTime.

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