Tag: conference

Alabama knocks off Florida 98-93 in OT instant classic

Alabama survives thriller in Tuscaloosa over Florida

It wasn’t pretty for most of the evening as the Crimson Tide shot an ugly 25% from beyond the arc, but when there is a will there is a way as Alabama was able to find a way to hold off Florida in overtime 98-93. The win seemed unlikely as the Gators led 76-67 with 6:13 to go in the game before Alabama responded with a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead.

Mark Sears was awesome as always with 17, but it was Grant Nelson’s presence that put Alabama in the “W” column tonight as he poured in 22 points. Aaron Estrada also played one of his best games of the season as he tallied 20 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

The win extends the Tide’s lead in the SEC by a game over Tennessee with just five left to go. One of those five games will be a date with the No. 5 Volunteers in Tuscaloosa on March 2nd. The Tide will also have to travel to Gainsville where they will take on this same Florida team who will have revenge on their mind.

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College Football Playoff committee makes revisions for the 2024 season and releases playoff dates

Do the revised CFP rules help the Tide’s chances in 2024?

No sport in America is changing as rapidly as college football is, and it’s happening right in front of our eyes. From the introduction of NIL to the transfer portal to coaching changes and so much more, the landscape of the entire sport is different than it was just five years ago.

If you don’t like change, then college football probably isn’t for you as there is much more of it coming in 2024. First of all, the pressing matter in college football is the conference realignment. Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington are all slated to join the Big Ten with Oklahoma and Texas both joining the SEC. We are trending towards those two mega conferences with rumors of a potential split from the NCAA on the horizon and the ACC and Big 12 on the outside looking in.

However, the biggest and most exciting change is that the Playoffs will be expanding to a 12-team format in 2024. The CFP committee released a statement today saying, “The CFP Board of Managers unanimously revised the qualifying criteria for the 12-team event to include the five highest-ranked conference champions plus the next seven highest-ranked teams determined by the CFP Selection Committee.”

The committee also released the CFP schedule for the 2024 season. The First round will be Dec. 20 and Dec. 21. The Quarterfinals will be Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The Semifinals will be Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. The CFP National Championship will be Jan. 20.

For Alabama, you could not have asked for a better tear to switch to the 12-team playoff. With the loss of [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag], there is going to be a bit of a fall off even as good as [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] is. The Crimson Tide will play one of the toughest schedules of anyone in the country this season, so it definitely helps to potentially be afforded an extra loss or two while DeBoer gets up and running in the SEC.

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CBS Sports college football expert Josh Pate ranks the SEC programs heading into 2024

Alabama football is ranked No. 2 in Josh Pate’s SEC power rankings heading into 2024

The 2024 college football season is going to be one of the craziest we have ever seen due to conference realignment as well as the expansion to a 12-team playoff. The SEC will look different with the additions of both Texas and Oklahoma, but the Big Ten will be adding Oregon, Washington, USC, and UCLA with the PAC-12 essentially dissolving into two members.

There are going to be a lot of really high-quality teams in the Southeastern Conference so the race for one of the few playoff spots will be intense. CBS Sports college football analyst Josh Pate revealed his SEC power rankings heading into the 2024 season and the Alabama Crimson Tide were No. 2 on the list. Pate has been incredibly complimentary of new hire Kalen DeBoer and the work he has put in so far, but ultimately chose to give the top spot to Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. However, we will know early on as the Dawgs travel to Tuscaloosa to open up SEC play.

Texas, LSU and Oklahoma round out the top five with Ole Miss surprisingly low at No. 6. It won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone that Vanderbilt rounds out the conference in the 16th spot.

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Alabama football announces date for Georgia game

Alabama football announces kick off date and time for Georgia Bulldogs

Since taking over as the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide at the start of the 2007 season, Nick Saban has been dominant against the Georgia Bulldogs posting an 8-2 record. However, that task is getting harder every year as the Bulldogs have reached new heights under head coach Kirby Smart.

Smart was a huge part in the rise of the Crimson Tide’s dynasty as he served as the defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2015. He then left Alabama to take over the Bulldogs program in 2016 and has since taken them to three national championships where he has won two. Alabama and Georgia have played a total of six times since Smart took over with Alabama winning five of them. Three of the contests have been SEC Championships, where Alabama has been undefeated and two have come for national titles where the series has been split.

Alabama football just announced on X that the Bulldogs will be in town on Sep. 28 to take on the Tide in Week 4. It will be Georgia’s first visit to Tuscaloosa since Oct. 17, 2020 when the Tide thumped them 41-24. It will more than likely be a top five match up and coming the week after Alabama travels to Madison, WI to take on the Badgers. The game will be at 6:30 p.m. on ABC in one of the most highly anticipated games of 2024.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

SEC decides on two permanent opponents in baseball starting in 2025

SEC Baseball makes huge decision on future conference opponents

The additions of the University of Texas and Oklahoma are without a shadow of a doubt great additions for the SEC. From the overall academic impact, they bring to the conference as well as being two of the most storied programs in all of college sports. That being said, their addition to the conference has not been the easiest thing in the world.

The SEC has operated with the East and West divisions for over 30 years, but with the two former Big-12 powerhouses on the way, there is a lot of maneuvering to do. For football, the conference had floated the idea of four pods consisting of four teams or realigning the divisions but neither ever came to fruition.

Baseball is a bit different because with so many teams in the conference, it is impossible to expect Alabama to play at least three games a year against all 15 of the other SEC programs. So, the SEC has announced that starting in 2025 the conference will keep two permanent opponents as a way to keep the rivalries strong within baseball. Alabama’s two permanent opponents will be Auburn and Tennessee as they should be.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Big Ten unveils Wisconsin football’s 2024-2028 conference opponents

The Big Ten unveiled Wisconsin’s conference opponents from 2024-2028:

The Big Ten unveiled conference opponents for every program fro 2024-2028 earlier today.

The announcement comes with USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington set to join the conference next season, and the East-West Division model set to be eliminated.

The road to Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff births is going to get a lot tougher for Wisconsin going forward. Instead of its West schedule and one or two tough East crossover games, the Badgers will now need to run against gauntlet schedules that include Oregon, Washington, USC, UCLA, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State and more.

Here are Wisconsin’s Big Ten opponents for the next five seasons:

Alabama basketball set to host former assistant coach and Arkansas State

Alabama basketball hosting former assistant in non-conference game this year

As part of the Alabama Crimson Tide’s non-conference basketball schedule this season they will take on the Arkansas State Red Wolves in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 4. The reason that this game should drum up some interest with Tide fans is that former assistant Bryan Hodgson is now the head man of the Arkansas State program.

Nate Oats and the Alabama program lost all three assistants from last season’s record-setting team, one of which was Hodges. He was a massive part of Oats’s operation as he was a key recruiter, and his loss has certainly hurt this offseason. Hodgson is taking over a 13-20 program from a season ago and has his work cut out for him.

Hodgson left Alabama and Oats on a great note with nothing but good things to say, and he doubled down on X saying,

“One of the many things I’ve taken with me from Nate Oats is his scheduling philosophy! Challenge yourself in the non-conference. Not much to gain from collecting wins at home against “lesser” opponents. We look forward to the challenges ahead, and we put together what we think will be the toughest schedule in Mid-Major basketball!! #Wolvesup #GTTL”

I speak for all of Alabama nation when I say I hope he and Arkansas State have a phenomenal 2023-24 campaign outside of the game on Dec. 4.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama MBB and Arizona Wildcats set to meet in Birmingham in 2024

Alabama MBB continues to add to their gauntlet out-of-conference schedule’s

Under the guidance of Nate Oats, the Alabama basketball program is thriving in ways never seen before. From elite recruiting classes to SEC Championships to first-round draft prospects, Oats has completely changed the trajectory of the program. By the time Avery Johnson left Tuscaloosa it felt like the program was in a poor place, but stealing Oats from Buffalo was one of Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrnes’s best moves to date.

One of the things that have made the Tide so successful and fun to watch is the strength of their out-of-conference scheduling. In 2022,  Alabama took on UCONN, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Houston, and North Carolina all before even getting into SEC play.

The Crimson Tide has announced another massive out-of-conference game for the future as they will take on the Arizona Wildcats in 2024 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, AL as part of the CM Newton Classic on Dec. 18th. Arizona has been one of the best college basketball programs since the beginning of the 2000s and getting them to come into the state of Alabama will be can’t-miss TV for all the Tide faithful.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Five unique programs the SEC should at least consider regarding expansion

Five teams the SEC could add during the conference realignment chaos

Conference realignment has always been a part of college sports, but when Oklahoma and Texas both agreed to leave the Big 12 in favor of the SEC something just felt different.

The following summer, UCLA and USC announced their decision to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, an indication that we were entering a new era that was moving away from the five power conferences. The Big 12 quickly responded by adding UCF, BYU, Houston and Cincinnati to form an even 12 teams again and stay afloat.

All had been calm since then, until last week when Colorado decided to leave the Pac-12 to join the Big 12. The move seems like it could possibly end the Pac-12, which now has nine members, with other conferences actively trying to recruit who is left. At this point, it is just a matter of time until the Big Ten and SEC strike again, but what will happen with the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC in the meantime?

Here are five programs the SEC should at least reach out to in order to gauge interest in potentially joining the program.

Alabama basketball 2023-2024 season SEC opponents revealed

See which teams Alabama will be playing and where in the 2023-2024 season.

The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team is coming off of what is likely their best season in program history. The 2022-2023 Alabama team won both the SEC regular season and tournament titles as well as earning the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness.

Since taking over the Alabama basketball program, head coach Nate Oats has prioritized playing the best competition possible. They have done an outstanding job scheduling out-of-conference games, but the SEC has also gone on to prove itself as possibly the toughest league in the country.

The SEC will reload again next season as Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Florida and Auburn will all likely be starting the season inside of the top 25. To help get the hype going, the SEC has released its schedule for all conference opponents ahead of the 2023-2024 season.

Alabama’s home games will include Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

Their road games will consist of Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.