Skip to main content

Report: Alabama basketball finalizing agreement to play Arizona in 2023-24

Alex Weberby:Alex Weber03/27/23
sweet-16-how-to-watch-alabama-basketball-vs-san-diego-state-aztecs-nate-oats
Alex Slitz, Getty Images

After their seasons just recently ended in the NCAA Tournament, two prominent college hoops programs are already looking towards next year. According to college hoops insider Jon Rothstein, Alabama and Arizona are putting together a neutral site game against one another out in Phoenix for this coming December.

Here was his report:

“Alabama and Arizona are finalizing an agreement to play a neutral site game on Dec. 20th at Footprint Center in Phoenix, multiple sources told FanDuel. There is no timetable on an official announcement.”

So, the Wildcats could welcome the Crimson Tide in a quasi-neutral site game. Arizona would be pretty close to home compared to Alabama, who would have to traverse several sets of state borders to face the Wildcats in the Footprint Center — home of the Phoenix Suns, as a matter of fact. If this matchup was to finalize, it’s possible the teams would also agree to a return game either in Tuscaloosa or nearby, like in Birmingham or another nearby city.

‘Bama and ‘Zona were two of the top teams in all of the country last year. Unfortunately for both, neither club reached their ultimate goal with the Wildcats getting knocked out in the first round against No. 15 seed Princeton while Alabama fell in the Sweet 16 against eventual Final Four participant San Diego State.

Of course, at this stage of the immediate offseason, you’d be playing blindfolded darts trying to guess who will be on each roster another seven or eight months from now. But given the recent very successful seasons for both programs, it’s a reasonable gamble to assume the two clubs will be good again in 2023-24.

Nate Oats came under some fire this season for mis-handling press conferences regarding the whole tragic situation involving a former Crimson Tide player. However, after putting together two elite seasons in his brief time in Tuscaloosa, he’s becomes one of the premier young coaches in the game.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd is a direct descendant (in the basketball coaching world) to Gonzaga’s Mark Few. Lloyd served as Few’s top assistant for a long time before finally jumping to coach his own program. In year one with the Wildcats, Lloyd earned a one-seed and advanced to the Elite Eight. This past year was more disappointing at the end, but overall, it’s a heck of a debut two years in Tucson for Coach Lloyd.

Two programs on the rise and under the lead of exciting coaches on the younger side.