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The Tuscaloosa News
Alabama basketball, Illinois finalizing matchup in Birmingham next season
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Alabama basketball, Illinois finalizing matchup in Birmingham next season
Alabama basketball and Illinois are finalizing a matchup to play next season in Birmingham, sources tell the Tuscaloosa News.
The Crimson Tide are also working toward playing the Fighting Illini in Chicago for the 2025-26 season. Alabama was originally scheduled to play Arizona in Birmingham next season, however, that matchup has been pushed back to 2025-26, the source said.
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The SEC-Big Ten clash should be one of the better matchups in college basketball next season, as the Crimson Tide are coming off their first Final Four appearance in school history while the Fighting Illini have been a consistent force in recent years. Illinois, however, is losing its two best players from last season in Terrence Shannon Jr. and Marcus Domask .
Both programs shared a common opponent in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, as Illinois fell to eventual national champions UConn 77-52 in the Elite Eight before Alabama lost to the Huskies 86-72 in the Final Four.
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Alabama could roster one of the best teams in college basketball next season, as the Crimson Tide return starting forward Grant Nelson and still await a decision by All-American guard Mark Sears on whether to return to school or not. They also added highly touted transfers Clifford Omoruyi from Rutgers and Chris Youngblood from USF.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball, Illinois finalizing matchup in Birmingham next season
