The 2020–21 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Nate Oats. They played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama as a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Crimson Tide won the regular season Southeastern Conference Championship, marking the team's first championship since 2002. They also won the SEC tournament, their first win in that competition since 1991 and the first time since 1987 that the program won both the regular season and tournament.

The Tide were placed as a No. 2 seed in the East Region for the 2021 NCAA tournament, their highest placement since 2002. They would defeat Iona and Maryland before falling to a surging 11-seed UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen in overtime, 88–78 (that UCLA team made the Final Four). Alabama was ranked No. 5 in the final Coaches' Poll following the season, and Oats was named SEC Coach of the Year as well as being a finalist for National Coach of the Year honors.

Previous season The Crimson Tide finished the 2019–20 season 16–15, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in ninth place. They were set to take on Tennessee in the second round of the SEC tournament. However, the remainder of the SEC Tournament was cancelled amid the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Offseason

Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Javian Davis 0 F 6'9" 242 RS Freshman Canton, MS Transferred to Mississippi State Kira Lewis Jr. 2 G 6'3" 165 Sophomore Meridianville, AL Declared for the 2020 NBA draft; selected 13th overall by the New Orleans Pelicans James Bolden 11 G 6'0" 160 RS Senior Covington, KY Graduated Jaylen Forbes 12 G 6'4" 186 Freshman Florence, MS Transferred to Tulane Sam Okauru 34 G 6'5" 200 Freshman Raleigh, NC Walk On; Transferred Raymond Hawkins 35 F/C 6'9" 240 Freshman Oakland, CA Transferred to Long Beach State

Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Jordan Bruner 2 F 6'10" 225 Senior Columbia, SC Graduate transfer from Yale Keon Ellis 14 G 6'6" 170 Junior Eustis, FL Junior College Transfer from Florida Southwestern State College. Kendall Wall 30 F 6'5" 192 Senior Columbia, SC Walk On; Graduate transfer from Francis Marion University.

2021 recruiting class

Preseason

SEC media poll The SEC media poll was released on November 12, 2020.

Media poll 1 Tennessee 2 Kentucky 3 LSU 4 Florida 5 Alabama 6 Arkansas 7 Auburn 8 South Carolina 9 Ole Miss 10 Missouri 11 Texas A&M 12 Mississippi State 13 Georgia 14 Vanderbilt

Preseason All-SEC teams The Crimson Tide had one player selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

First Team

John Petty Jr.

Roster

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style=|Non-conference regular season

!colspan=12 style=|SEC regular season

!colspan=12 style=| SEC Tournament

!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References