Alabama basketball will take the court against another top-10 opponent in the annual C.M. Newton Classic at Legacy Arena Saturday when the Arizona Wildcats visit Birmingham.
The Wildcats (8-0) are ranked No. 1 in this week’s AP Top 25 men’s basketball poll, and are No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, behind the Michigan Wolverines.
Alabama (7-2) is ranked No. 12 in both polls after beating the Clemson Tigers, 90-84, in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge at Coleman Coliseum last Tuesday. The Tide followed it up with a 97-55 blowout win over the UTSA Roadrunners on Sunday.
Labaron Philon, Alabama’s leading scorer this season with 21.6 points per game, scored 29 in the win over Clemson. The Crimson Tide led by as many as 19 in the first half before the Tigers stormed back and grabbed the lead in the game’s final eight-plus minutes. Alabama ended the night with a 9-1 run.
The Tide’s victory against UTSA was never in doubt. Alabama got out to a 56-17 lead at halftime and cruised the rest of the way. Miami Hurricanes transfer guard Jalil Bethea led the Crimson Tide with 21 points in 22 minutes in his first meaningful action this season.
Bethea made six of his 12 shots from the field, including five of 10 from 3-point range. Philon and freshman London Jemison both added 20 points, and Amari Allen recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Arizona rose to No. 1 after a 97-58 rout of the Auburn Tigers in Tucson on Saturday. Wildcats leading scorer Koa Peat (15.9 PPG) led Arizona with 18 points, and former Crimson Tide guard Jaden Bradley, now in his third season with the Wildcats, added 16 in the blowout.
Will Alabama basketball beat Arizona? ESPN’s prediction
Ahead of Alabama-Arizona, ESPN Analytics has its own odds for Saturday’s game.
ESPN’s matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college basketball power index and other variables, gives Arizona a 63.7% chance to win and Alabama a 36.2% chance.
The Crimson Tide are 11th in ESPN’s latest BPI ratings, up four spots from last week. Alabama has an 18.5 overall rating. Arizona has a 21.8 rating that’s five spots ahead of Alabama at No. 6 in ESPN’s metrics.
Alabama basketball season win totals, odds of winning SEC championship
In ESPN’s BPI ratings, Alabama has a projected record of 22-9.
Alabama is currently given a 28.3% chance of winning the SEC title, which trails only the defending champion Florida Gators (36.8%). The Crimson Tide are tied with the Purdue Boilermakers (18.5) in the latest BPI ratings, and is one spot ahead of the No. 12 BYU Cougars (18.4).
To break down the metrics, Alabama’s offense is given an 11.5 rating, which ranks eighth nationally. The Crimson Tide’s defense is given a 7.0 rating, which ranks 30th.
The Duke Blue Devils lead ESPN’s BPI metrics with a 25.2 rating (12.9 offense, 12.3 defense).
Alabama basketball 2025-26 opponent preview: Arizona Wildcats https://t.co/jH9BDuPqtkpic.twitter.com/m5KwSmDnP6
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) December 10, 2025
SEC basketball teams ranked by ESPN BPI
- 16. South Carolina Gamecocks (8.2 BPI)
- 15. Mississippi State Bulldogs (9.9 BPI)
- 14. Texas Longhorns (12.0 BPI)
- 13. Ole Miss Rebels (12.3 BPI)
- 12. LSU Tigers (12.5 BPI)
- 11. Oklahoma Sooners (12.8 BPI)
- 10. Texas A&M Aggies (13.3 BPI)
- 9. Missouri Tigers (13.8 BPI)
- 8. Arkansas Razorbacks (14.1 BPI)
- 7. Georgia Bulldogs (14.3 BPI)
- 6. Auburn Tigers (15.8 BPI)
- 5. Tennessee Volunteers (16.9 BPI)
- 4. Kentucky Wildcats (17.0 BPI)
- 3. Vanderbilt Commodores (18.1 BPI)
- 2. Alabama Crimson Tide (18.5 BPI)
- 1. Florida Gators (18.8 BPI)
What is ESPN College Basketball Power Index (BPI)?
ESPN explains:
“The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily.”
Alabama basketball vs. Arizona start time, TV information
Tipoff for Alabama-Arizona at the C.M. Newton Classic is 8:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. The game can be seen on ESPN.
Alabama basketball schedule 2025-26
- Nov. 3: vs. North Dakota (W, 91-62)
- Nov. 8: at St. John’s (W, 103-96)
- Nov. 13: vs. Purdue (L, 87-80)
- Nov. 19: vs. Illinois (W, 90-86)
- Nov. 24: vs. Gonzaga (L, 95-85)
- Nov. 25: vs. UNLV (W, 115-76)
- Nov. 26: vs. Maryland (W, 105-72)
- Dec. 3: vs. Clemson (W, 90-84)
- Dec. 7: vs. UTSA (W, 97-55)
- Dec. 13: vs. Arizona, 8:30 p.m., ESPN (at Birmingham)
- Dec. 17: vs. South Florida, 7 p.m., ESPN+
- Dec. 21: vs. Kennesaw State, 1 p.m., ESPN+ (at Huntsville)
- Dec. 29: vs. Yale, 7 p.m., ESPN+
- Jan. 3: vs. Kentucky, noon, ESPN
- Jan. 7: at Vanderbilt, ESPN2 or ESPNU
- Jan. 10: vs. Texas, 7 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
- Jan. 13: at Mississippi State, 8 p.m., SEC Network
- Jan. 17: at Oklahoma, noon, SEC Network
- Jan. 24: vs. Tennessee, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Jan. 27: vs. Missouri, 8 p.m., SEC Network
- Feb. 1: at Florida, noon, ABC
- Feb. 4: vs. Texas A&M, 6 p.m., SEC Network
- Feb. 7: at Auburn, ESPN or ESPN2
- Feb. 11: at Ole Miss, 6 p.m., SEC Network
- Feb. 14: vs. South Carolina, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network
- Feb. 18: vs. Arkansas, 6 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU
- Feb. 21: at LSU, 5 p.m., SEC Network
- Feb. 25: vs. Mississippi State, ESPN2 or ESPNU
- Feb. 28: at Tennessee, ESPN or ESPN2
- March 3: at Georgia, 5:30 p.m., ESPNews
- March 7: vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama basketball odds of beating No. 1 Arizona, per ESPN
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