Cary Moss 🐘

One year ago today, @AlabamaMBB walked into Madison Square Garden and delivered one of the most impressive early-season victories of the @nate_oats era. No. 15 Alabama defeated No. 5 St. John’s 103-96 with its Southern version of a New York attitude, ending the Red Storm’s 12-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 8, 2025. Labaron Philon Jr. scored a career-high 25 points, including a deep three-pointer that extended Alabama’s lead to 98-88 with two minutes remaining. Aden Holloway added 21 points in his season debut, while Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Taylor Bol Bowen scored 17 apiece. The game featured 18 lead changes and seven ties. Alabama trailed 81-80 with 8:13 remaining but closed the afternoon with a 23-15 surge, committing only seven turnovers against Rick Pitino’s pressure defense. The Crimson Tide became the first nonconference opponent since 2004 to score 100 points against St. John’s and produced the highest-scoring performance allowed by the Red Storm during Pitino’s tenure. The 103-96 victory gave Oats his eighth win over an AP Top-5 opponent as Alabama went to the “Mecca of Basketball” and showed once again that its fearless style traveled anywhere. For the older generation of Alabama basketball fans take a moment to savor the postgame comments from Pitino.

Tonight @AlabamaMBB hosts @AStateMB and former assistant @RyanPannone. Can @nate_oats continue the season without a technical foul? Also please take advantage of the 10 percent discount for followers with @EnakFlavors.

Ryan Pannone created some of the most prolific offenses in @AlabamaMBB history, but tonight he will be the one trying to slow the Crimson Tide down. The Arkansas State head coach returns to Coleman Coliseum for his first meeting with @nate_oats after serving as an offensive guru for two seasons in Tuscaloosa. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and the game will be streamed on SEC Network+. @RyanPannone worked on the Alabama staff from 2023 to 2025, helping engineer the offensive machine that powered the Crimson Tide to its first Final Four in 2024 and an Elite Eight the following season. His colorful vocabulary made him a memorable presence on the Alabama bench and a beloved speaker at tip-off club meetings. No. 20 Alabama opened the season Tuesday with a 96–74 win over Sam Houston. Drew Fielder and London Jemison each scored 15 points, while Tarris Bouie had 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. The Crimson Tide averaged 96.7 points in three exhibition wins and nearly matched that in the season-opener. Arkansas State also enters 1–0 after getting 20 points from Tameron Ferguson in its 71-70 victory over Toledo. The Red Wolves are the preseason pick to win the Sun Belt Conference. How will Pannone defend the offense he helped construct and how will Oats adjust against his former assistant who knows his program from the inside? Those are the questions that will be answered later tonight.

Seven years ago today, a new chapter in @AlabamaMBB history began when @nate_oats coached his first game for the Crimson Tide. Few could have imagined what the next seven seasons would bring when Alabama took the floor at Coleman Coliseum against Penn on Nov. 5, 2019. The debut didn’t go according to plan. Despite a career-high 30 points from Kira Lewis Jr., including 22 in the second half, Alabama suffered a frustrating 81-80 defeat. The fast-paced, three-point-oriented system was a dramatic departure from what Alabama fans had experienced in previous seasons. Seven years later, the transformation of Alabama basketball has been remarkable. The Crimson Tide has captured two SEC regular-season championships, two SEC Tournament titles, reached five Sweet Sixteens, two Elite Eights and made the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance in 2024. What began with a one-point loss to Penn became the most successful sustained stretch in program history. Nov. 5, 2019, wasn’t memorable because of the final score. It was memorable because it marked the beginning of an era that would forever change the expectations for Crimson Tide basketball.

INSTANT REACTION @AlabamaMBB 96, @BearkatsMBB 74 Alabama had 17 steals and 33 points off turnovers in its season-opening win

A new season is upon us for @AlabamaMBB and it’s time to restart the @nate_oats technical foul counters. We are not counting the technical foul from the exhibition win over Ole Miss 😉. Also please take advantage of the 10 percent discount for followers with @EnakFlavors.