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Alabama basketball schedules St. John's at Madison Square Garden

63571867_t466o7i5ncby:Blake Byler•05/08/25•

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NateOatsLSU
Jan 25, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats directs his team during the first half against the LSU Tigers at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images

Alabama has added yet another marquee game to its 2025-26 non-conference schedule, finalizing an agreement to play St. John’s at Madison Square Garden in New York City, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported on Thursday. The game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The game will be the first in a semi home-and-home series, bringing St. John’s to play in Birmingham during the 2026-27 season in what will likely be that season’s annual C.M. Newton Classic game.

St. John’s has emerged as a major power in the Big East under legendary head coach Rick Pitino, sweeping the conference regular season and tournament titles last season while earning a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitino and Alabama head coach Nate Oats met twice while Pitino was at Iona, once in the 2021 NCAA Tournament (68-55 Alabama win) and the following fall in the ESPN Events Invitational (72-68 Iona win).

Oats is notorious for his difficult scheduling during his Alabama tenure, and 2025-26 is no different. In addition to St. John’s, the Crimson Tide will play Purdue at home (Nov. 13), Illinois in Chicago (Nov. 19), and Arizona in Birmingham (Dec. 13). Alabama will also play three games at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week and a TBA SEC/ACC Challenge opponent in early December.

Alabama still has two open roster spots and will be looking to finalize its roster for the 2025-26 season in the next couple of weeks.

Be sure to check out BOL’s Alabama basketball roster tracker to keep up with where the 2025-26 roster stands throughout the offseason.

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