Lindy's Sports Names Alabama Basketball Preseason No. 1 Team in the Nation

The jaw-dropping amount of returning talent combined with the highly-touted incoming transfers and freshmen were more than enough for Lindy's to include the Crimson Tide on this prestigious list.

Alabama Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears (1) celebrates during practice for the Final Four at State Farm Stadium on Friday, April 5, 2024. / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

As the countdown to college basketball season begins, Lindy's Sports magazine ranked the top 10 teams in the nation on Tuesday.

Lindy's was established in 1982 and is made and published in Birmingham, Ala.

Alabama men's basketball had quite the magical season this past year as it reached its first Final Four in school history. The jaw-dropping amount of returning talent combined with the highly-touted incoming transfers and freshmen were more than enough for Lindy's to give the Crimson Tide the spot at the top of the mountain.

Lindy’s Top 10:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. Kansas Jayhawks
3. UConn Huskies
4. Houston Cougars
5. Gonzaga Bulldogs
6. Iowa State Cyclones
7. North Carolina Tar Heels
8. Duke Blue Devis
9. Baylor Bears
10. Arizona Wildcats

On Aug. 22, the program announced that it'll unveil the Final Four banner and launch it up the Coleman Coliseum rafters on Oct. 11 at 8:30 p.m. CT, which is 17 days before the Rocket City Classic charity exhibition against Memphis and 24 days before Alabama’s season opener at home against UNC Asheville. Tickets for the ceremony are $10.

The festivities will begin with an introduction of the 2024-25 Alabama men's basketball team, and will include a dunk contest, a three-point competition and conclude with a scrimmage. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a replica banner and Final Four poster.

After taking down 13-seeded Charleston, 12-seeded Grand Canyon, one-seeded North Carolina and six-seeded Clemson in the NCAA Tournament, the Tide's magnificent Final Four run would end at the hands of UConn by a score of 86-72. The Huskies went on to defeat Purdue 75-60 in the National Championship to claim back-to-back titles.

Fast forward to today, a strong argument can be made that this is the most anticipated season in the history of Tide Hoops. Alabama has realistic expectations to get two more wins than last season's NCAA Tournament to claim the school's first-ever National Title.