Alabama Men’s Basketball Travels to Face No. 8/8 Creighton

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men's basketball team will travel to Omaha, Neb. to face No. 8/8 Creighton, Saturday at the CHI Health Center Omaha.

The Crimson Tide's matchup against the Boilermakers is the second of three-straight matchups where Alabama squares off with a top-10 opponent in No. 4 Purdue, at No. 8 Creighton and vs. No. 1 Arizona (Dec. 20 in Phoenix, Ariz.). It is the first time in program history that Alabama has faced three consecutive top-10 opponents during the non-conference schedule.

Alabama continues to have one of the best offenses in the country, as the Tide ranks No. 1 nationally in the category, according to KenPom. Alabama has scored 839 points (93.2 ppg), which ranks No. 3 overall and stands as the most in program history through the first nine games of the season, surpassing the 2000-01 team (777 points).

The Broadcast

Saturday's game is set for a 7 p.m. CT tipoff and will be aired on the FOX with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Donny Marshall (analyst) on the call.

The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play) and Bryan Passink (analyst) on the call, while Tom Stipe (engineer) is turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

Alabama head coach Nate Oats is 15-17 against AP Top-25 opponents and 5-6 against Top-10 opponents
Alabama is playing three-straight AP Top-10 opponents during non-conference for the first time in program history and the first time since the 2021-22 season (W vs. #4 Baylor, L at #1 Auburn and L vs. #5 Kentucky)
Alabama is one of six schools in the country that has two players on its current roster that has scored at least 1,500 points throughout their career in Aaron Estrada (1,610 points) and Mark Sears (1,547 points)
UA is making 21.2 free throws per contest, which ranks No. 4 in the country
The Crimson Tide owns the No. 1 ranked offense, according to KenPom
The Tide is averaging 93.2 points per game, which ranks No. 3 in the country
UA has an effective field goal percentage of 58.8, which ranks No. 5 in the country
Mark Sears is one of three players in Division I and the only Power 5 player in the country that has at least 190 points, 25 three-pointers, 35 assists and 40 rebounds this season
Sears ranks No. 13 in the nation in scoring (21.4 ppg), No. 6 in three-point percentage (51.0) and No. 38 in total points (193)
One of the best players in the SEC, Sears ranks No. 1 in the SEC in scoring, No. 4 in field goal percentage (56.0), and No. 6 in assists (4.0 apg)
Senior transfer Grant Nelson was named to the Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List, which annually recognizes the top player in college basketball and the Karl Malone Award Watch List for the top power forward in Division I
Alabama's trio of Estrada, Nelson and Sears have each scored over 1,000 points throughout their college career, which is tied for the third most in the country (St. John's & TCU with four each)

About Creighton

Under head coach Greg McDermott, Creighton owns a 100-9 home record vs. non-conference teams
Creighton owns the No. 28 ranked offense and the No. 50 ranked defense in the nation
Creighton is making 12.6 three-pointers game, which ranks No. 1 in the nation while Alabama ranks No. 4 in the country with 11.6 three-pointers per contest
Baylor Scheierman is making 3.2 three-pointers per contest, which ranks No. 20 in the country
In its eight wins, Creighton has scored 387 points before halftime (48.4 per game), and put up 40 or more points in the first half each contest. In its two losses loss, CU managed just 47 points before half
Creighton has won 14 games in a row when scoring more than 40 first half points
Creighton ranks No. 2 in three-point field goals per game (12.1) and No. 1 in fewest fouls per game (9.3)

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.