2/10/2023 basketball Edit

Nate Oats, Alabama basketball players discuss College GameDay spotlight

Hosts, from left, Rece Davis, LaPhonso Ellis, Seth Greenberg and Jay Bilas during ESPN's 'College GameDay' broadcast ahead of No. 4 Tennessee's basketball game against No. 10 Texas at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Photo | Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tony Tsoukalas • TideIllustrated

Managing Editor

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball will be under the spotlight as ESPN’s College GameDay is set to broadcast live from Auburn before Saturday’s clash between the No. 3 Crimson Tide and Tigers. This will mark the first time Alabama has played in the featured game since the basketball version of the show debuted in 2005.

Alabama (21-3) is off to an 11-0 start in SEC play but has lost five of its last six games on the Plains. Auburn (17-7, 7-4) is hoping to get back on track this season after losing four of its last five games.

"This game has become a national game, which is why College GameDay decided to come to Auburn,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Friday. “It'll be great. It's good for the state, it's good for basketball in the state of Alabama. It's good for both programs."

While this will be the first time Alabama basketball is involved in College GameDay’s marque game, the show has made three stops to Auburn in the last four seasons.

Alabama’s schedule this season hasn’t helped the cause of getting the crew to Tuscaloosa. Since College GameDay made its yearly transition from football to basketball on Jan. 14, the Crimson Tide has hosted just one game against unranked LSU.

Alabama will host unraked Georgia next Saturday before hosting unranked Arkansas on Feb. 25, giving it two more opportunities to host the show this year.

“It’d be nice have them here, but we’ll take them wherever,” Oats said. “It’ll be fun. It’ll be a good atmosphere for our guys.”

As for Alabama’s players, they don’t seem too hyped for the added spotlight.

“We don’t really pay attention to stuff like that,” freshman forward Brandon Miller said. “I feel like we just stay together and go out here and play as hard as we can to get a win over a good team.”

Fellow freshman Rylan Griffen admitted he doesn’t typically tune into College GameDay anyway, stating it’s 10 a.m. CT start doesn’t generally fit into his schedule.

"I'm not gonna lie, I don't even wake up in time to watch College GameDay,” Griffen said. “That’s not going to change tomorrow.”

Alabama and Auburn are set to tip off at 1 p.m. inside Neville Arena on Saturday. The game will be televised by ESPN.