TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball honored an old friend while ushering in a new season Tuesday night. Both celebrations were met with a thunderous roar from a Coleman Coliseum crowd that had not been this packed in two years.

No. 14 Alabama opened what many predict to be a memorable season with an emphatic 93-64 win over Louisiana Tech. The Crimson Tide reloaded roster looked every bit as strong as the unit that reach last year’s Sweet 16 as five players reached double figures on the night.

"It shows how deep we can be," head coach Nate Oats said. "We played in the rotation, I think, eight guys in double-digit minutes. ... We've got good depth, we've got good players, and the ball moves."

Keon Ellis led the way recording 18 points and nine rebounds while knocking down 3 of 4 3-point attempts and finishing the night with an eye-popping 37 plus-minus.

Last season's leading scorer, Jaden Shackelford, finished 17 points to go with seven boards, while Juwan Gary recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Miles chipped in 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 night from the floor, including three 3s.

Freshman JD Davison made his Crimson Tide debut, recording 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists off the bench. The five-star point guard ignited the crowd with a powerful dunk in the first half as he hammered home a fastbreak pass from Ellis while drawing a foul. Davison then flashed his shooting ability moments later, knocking down a 3 in the corner.

Alabama’s inspired effort came after the team recognized the late superfan, Luke “Fluff” Ratliff, who passed away in April at the age of 23 following complications from COVID-19. Ratliff, an Alabama student who led “Crimson Chaos,” was honored with a memorial video before having his seat memorialized in the student section.

"He's more than just a fan," Oats said. "It felt like he was part of the program. I met him early. He was here early. Shoot, there were times when he was here for shootaround four hours before the game setting stuff up. You can tell what kind of passion he had. To me, that's what college athletics embodies."

Alabama separated itself from Louisiana Tech midway through the first half, using a 12-2 run to build a 10-point lead over the visitors. The Tide would extend that advantage to 48-31 at the break as Ellis went on a personal 5-0 run while swatting away a shot on the other end during the final minute of the first period.

Alabama continued to pour it on in the second half as it cruised to an easy victory. The Tide outshot the Bulldogs 50% to 39% from the floor and 39% to 23% from beyond the arc. Alabama also dominated down low, outrebounding Louisiana Tech 51-37.

"Really, we just knew that they had some big guys down low, and we were going to have to rebound as a team, and I think we did that," Ellis said. "As usual, defense helps lead your offense to easy buckets, so getting rebounds from your guards and your bigs can help create easy buckets and transition points for you."

Alabama will return to Coleman Coliseum later this week as it hosts South Dakota State on Friday at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on SEC+.