Alabama basketball’s non-conference schedule is a couple of steps closer to completion as CBS Sports reported Thursday that two more opponents are set for the Crimson Tide’s 2019-20 slate. According to the reports, Alabama will open up play in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament against North Carolina on Nov. 27. CBS Sports later reported that the Crimson Tide will host Richmond on an undisclosed date.
Alabama and North Carolina are two of eight teams in this year’s Battle 4 Atlantis, a 12-game, three-day tournament in the Bahamas from Nov. 27-29. According to the report, the other openers will be Gonzaga versus Southern Miss, Michigan versus Iowa State, and Oregon versus Seton Hall.
The winner of the game between Alabama and North Carolina will face the winner of Michigan versus Iowa State, while the two losers will meet on the other side of the bracket.
Alabama has played North Carolina nine times in its history with the Tar Heels holding a 5-4 advantage in the series. The last meeting between the two schools occurred in 1992 when North Carolina beat Alabama 64-55 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, North Carolina finished 29-7 (16-2) while earning a share of the ACC regular-season championship. The Tar Heels received a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Auburn.
This year’s game against Richmond will be the fourth meeting between the schools with Alabama holding a 3-1 advantage in the series. Richmond won the last contest, beating Alabama 71-64 in Coleman Coliseum during the first round of the 2017 National Invitational Tournament. Richmond finished 13-20 (6-12) last season, tying for 10th in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
While Alabama’s non-conference schedule has yet to be released in full, several other games have been already announced. The Crimson Tide will open its season against the University of Pennsylvania on Nov. 5 inside Coleman Coliseum. Alabama is also set to face Belmont on Dec. 21 in Huntsville, Ala., in this year’s Rocket City Classic. In addition, the Crimson Tide will host Stephen F. Austin and travel to Penn State and Rhode Island at undisclosed dates.
In league play, Alabama will play home-and-home series with Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri and Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide will also play home games against Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M and travel to Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and Ole Miss. Dates for conference games are not yet announced.
