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The Tuscaloosa News
Ranking the top 10 wins in Alabama basketball history
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Ranking the top 10 wins in Alabama basketball history
Alabama basketball has reached new heights in recent years, highlighted by last season's Final Four run in the NCAA Tournament, but there were historic wins long before that.
The Tuscaloosa News has reached into the program's history to identify the best 10 wins in 112 seasons of UA hoops.
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With input from experts like Alabama coach Nate Oats and national championship-winning coach Tubby Smith, here are the top 10 wins along the way to a new era of Alabama basketball as the school known for football is making noise on the hardwood.
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10. Alabama 83, Auburn 64 − 2020
Oats would tell you this is the game where he saw the perspective on Alabama basketball shift. Auburn had gone 7-2 against UA since 2016, was undefeated and ranked in the top five, but the former math teacher's arrival to lead the program saw the Tide turn.
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9. Alabama 90, Arkansas 89 − 1992
The Alabama-Arkansas series offered a number of shootouts in the early 1990s. Here, the Crimson Tide rebounded from a regular-season loss to the No. 10 Razorbacks to kick Arkansas out of the conference tournament on a last-minute corner three.
8. Alabama 48, Kentucky 46 − 1982 SEC Tournament
To return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since its Sweet 16 run in 1976, Alabama edged out Kentucky at Rupp Arena for the conference championship after falling to the Wildcats twice in the regular season.
7. Alabama 94, Georgetown 73 − 1982
Georgetown's roster brought the best center and player in the country in eventual Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing. That didn't stop Alabama from clobbering the Hoyas in Los Angeles.
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6. Alabama 79, UNC 64 − 1976 NCAA Tournament
The Alabama faithful often remember the historic Sweet 16 game against Indiana, a loss to the Hoosiers who were on the way to completing an undefeated national championship season. However, the Crimson Tide picking apart UNC to get there can't go without mention.
Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats, forward Grant Nelson (2) and guard Mark Sears (1) in a press conference after the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
5. Alabama 101, Kentucky 77 − 1956
The Rocket Eight team made way for Lexington to punch out top-10 Kentucky, putting the country on notice that the Wildcats didn't have the only basketball team in the SEC. Alabama didn't best its 24-point margin of victory in the series until a 78-52 defeat of UK in 2023.
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4. Alabama 86, Florida 85 − 1987
The final game of the regular season came down to the buzzer. No. 10 Alabama took down the No. 18 Gators with a tip-in to claim the SEC title, sparking a run for the conference tournament championship.
3. Alabama 70, UCLA 67 − 1983
Buck Johnson, Bobby Lee Hurt and friends took down No. 1 UCLA in its own castle with a regular-season win at Pauley Pavilion in Westwood.
2. Alabama 70, Stanford 67 − 2004 NCAA Tournament
Stanford was the No. 1 seed, but eighth-seed Alabama won in Seattle to reach the Elite Eight for the first time. Now-Kennesaw State coach Antoine Pettway led as Alabama ousted a Stanford team that had only taken one loss all season.
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1. Alabama 89, UNC 87 − 2024 NCAA Tournament
A defeat of Clemson punched UA's historic ticket to the Final Four, but the Crimson Tide wouldn't have had the chance to make the Final Four without the Grant Nelson-powered win against the blue-blood Tar Heels.
Mar 28, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson (2) controls the ball against North Carolina Tar Heels guard Paxson Wojcik (8) in the semifinals of the West Regional of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Ranking Alabama basketball's top 10 wins in program history
