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Alabama's opponent for 2025 SEC-ACC Basketball Challenge revealed
Alabama's opponent for 2025 SEC-ACC Basketball Challenge revealed
Alabama basketball has reportedly learned its opponent for the annual SEC-ACC Challenge.
CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday that Nate Oats' Crimson Tide will take on coach Brad Brownell and the Clemson Tigers at Coleman Coliseum in the 2025 SEC-ACC Challenge. An official date and start time were not announced.
The matchup between Alabama and Clemson will be a rematch of teams who met twice during the 2023-24 season, most notably in the West Region final of the Elite Eight in Los Angeles.
The Crimson Tide punched their first-ever ticket to the Final Four with an 89-82 win over the Tigers at Arena (Staples Center) on March 30, 2024. Alabama made 16 3-pointers in the victory, getting a game-high 23 points from Mark Sears, who made 7-of-14 shots from beyond the arc, and 19 points off the bench from Jarin Stevenson.
Alabama and Clemson previously met in the 2023-24 regular season on Nov. 28 in Coleman Coliseum, an 85-77 Tigers victory in that year's SEC-ACC Challenge. One of Tigers' star players from their 2024 run to the Elite Eight, forward Ian Schieffelin, recently joined Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team as a tight end.
Last year, Alabama defeated North Carolina in the SEC-ACC Challenge, 94-79 in Chapel Hill behind 20 points from Sears and 15 apiece from Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway. Philon recently announced his decision to withdraw from the 2025 NBA draft and return to Tuscaloosa for his sophomore season.
As part of their 2024-25 schedule, the Crimson Tide will also face Illinois in Chicago, Purdue at Coleman Coliseum, Rick Pitino's St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden, and the Arizona Wildcats at Legacy Arena in Birmingham among other nonconference foes.
Alabama finished 28-9 last season and reached the Elite Eight before falling to Duke in the East Region final in Newark. The Crimson Tide were ranked No. 6 in the final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Clemson went 27-7 overall and 18-2 in ACC play and was a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers fell to McNeese State, 69-67, in a first-round upset in Providence, Rhode Island. Clemson was ranked No. 23 in the final Coaches Poll.
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