GAME PREVIEW: Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide open up The Emerald Coast Classic on Friday evening in Niceville, Florida.

The Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team plays their first game of the season on the road against the No. 17 Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday.

The contest between the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide is part of The Emerald Coast Classic tournament, which takes place this weekend from Raider Arena in Niceville, Florida.

Ohio State enters this tournament with a 3-1 record after four games at home to open the season. The Buckeyes' wins came against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, Merrimack Warriors and Western Michigan Broncos.

The lone loss of the season for the Scarlet and Gray came on Friday, November 3 against the then-No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies. Ohio State lost 73-66 despite a 24-point outing from sophomore guard Bruce Thornton.

Alabama is perfect through their first quartet of games, having bested the Morehead State Eagles, Indiana State Sycamores, South Alabama Jaguars and Mercer Bears. The Crimson Tide outscored their opponents 407-266 over those four contests.

Like Ohio State, Alabama has yet to play a game away from their home arena this season. The Crimson Tide are the top team in the country in three-point shooting, finding the mark 48.9 percent of the time when firing behind the arc.

Friday will be the seventh all-time meeting between the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide, having gone 3-3 against one another in the last six games. 

The Ohio State Buckeyes and Alabama Crimson Tide tip things off at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 24. Coverage of the game will air live from Niceville, Florida on CBS.