Alabama basketball has another closed-door scrimmage set to take place before the 2023-24 season starts.
For a second consecutive year, the Crimson Tide will face TCU in a preseason matchup in October, sources with knowledge of the scrimmage told The Tuscaloosa News. The scrimmage vs. TCU will be held in Birmingham.
The matchup with TCU is one of two preseason scrimmages for Alabama; the Crimson Tide also has a charity exhibition game against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 29.
Then, the Crimson Tide will begin its fifth season under coach Nate Oats on Nov. 6 when Morehead State travels to Coleman Coliseum to face Alabama.
The closed scrimmage against TCU a season ago proved to be valuable for the Crimson Tide, despite how big of a loss it was for Alabama. The Horned Frogs beat the Crimson Tide 99-69. Alabama had 22 turnovers in the game.
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Fast forward five months, and the Crimson Tide ended up with the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after winning the SEC regular-season championship and the SEC Tournament.
“We got drilled,” Oats said in March. “The TCU scrimmage was the best thing to ever happen to us, to be honest with you.”
Alabama held a player-only meeting after the scrimmage, and it proved productive. The TCU scrimmage provided a reality check that helped put Alabama on a path to a historic season.
“I will try to schedule a scrimmage where we get beat again next year,” Oats joked in March, minutes after winning the SEC Tournament.
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men’s basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
