Alabama basketball is off to a good start.
The Crimson Tide are 4-0 to start the 2022-23 season, including wins over three teams in last season’s NCAA Tournament: Longwood, Liberty and Jacksonville State.
Not only did Alabama win, but they looked very impressive while doing so, winning all three home games by over 20 points.
While some would say Alabama already faced a test when they went on the road to defeat South Alabama, the Crimson Tide have an entirely different level of challenge to face this weekend in Portland. , Oregon, for the Phil Knight Invitational.
The PKI is an 8-team multi-team event held to honor Nike’s found Phil Knight, and the field is packed this season.
Alabama’s opener is Thursday night against No. 12 Michigan State, which played Gonzaga until the last second and already has other wins over Kentucky and Villanova.
In the second round, Alabama will face either No. 20 UConn or Oregon depending on the result of the previous game. Either would be a challenge as both have outstanding basketball programs that consistently produce successful teams.
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Alabama’s last game could be any of Portland, Iowa State, Villanova or No. 1 North Carolina, depending on how the rest of the bracket shakes out.
The Crimson Tide have shown they’re a talented team so far this season, but the PKI is head coach Nate Oats’ team’s first chance to show the college basketball world just how much they can really be good.
Watch the video above as BamaCentral’s Blake Byler and Joey Blackwell discuss Alabama’s basketball expectations in the PKI over Thanksgiving weekend.
See also:
Nate Oats: Jahvon Quinerly is ‘ready to go’
Alabama basketball steady in AP, drop in coaches poll
Brandon Miller named SEC Rookie of the Week
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