A trap game against Arkansas looms for Alabama basketball, but the Crimson Tide will remain on the road
Alabama basketball has another road swing coming up, starting the trip with Arkansas on Saturday.
Compared to the rest of this season’s away slate for Alabama (19-3, 8-1 SEC), which featured Purdue, North Carolina, Texas A&M and Mississippi State, a mismatched roster of Razorbacks could seem like a break with the start the back nine of SEC play.
That’s never the case in Bud Walton Arena. Especially not in one of the most iconic rivalries of SEC hoops after former-SWC member Arkansas (13-8, 2-6) joined the league in 1991. It’s not the case for Nate Oats against John Calipari, either.
Don’t be fooled by Arkansas basketball’s five-loss start to SEC play
The Crimson Tide has been a better team away from Coleman Coliseum. Arkansas could be the first trap game trip, though.
The Razorbacks’ 18-point loss to Missouri on Jan. 18 marked the program’s worst start to conference play in 39 years. They came back with a three-point win over Georgia, which Alabama beat by 21 on Saturday, and fell to Oklahoma by three in their next appearance. Now, Arkansas welcomes Mark Sears and company to town with an 89-79 win over Kentucky in Rupp Arena under its belt.
Bud Walton Arena hasn’t treated Crimson Tide well in past
Until Alabama’s last visit to Fayetteville in January 2023, it had been over a decade since the Crimson Tide had won in Bud Walton Arena. In February 2012, Anthony Grant’s NCAA Tournament team defeated then-first year coach Mike Anderson and the Razorbacks, 79-68.
This will be Oats’ first time facing Calipari at the helm of Arkansas, but since starting at Alabama in 2019, he has fallen to to ex-Kentucky coach five times, winning on two occasions in 2021 and again in 2023.
Why Alabama basketball is staying on the road after Fayetteville
After Arkansas, the Crimson Tide isn’t coming back to Tuscaloosa. At least not until the team’s next home game on Feb. 15 against Auburn.
It’s just another part of Alabama’s NBA-style, according to Oats.
“Some of our NBA guys kind of wondered why we come back,” Oats told Chris Stewart on Monday’s edition of Hey Coach.
Well, a little thing called college, for one.
“I tell them we have students,” Oats laughed. “They have to go to class.”
In this instance, Oats said it “didn’t make much sense” for Alabama to come back with a late tipoff in Arkansas at 7 p.m., so the team plans to stay on the road until Texas on Feb. 11.
“We would be in town for one day and have to leave right away again Monday,” Oats said. “To reduce travel costs … wear and tear on their bodies, we’ll just go get to Austin, settle in and watch the Super Bowl together as a team Sunday night.”
