TUSCALOOSA — Grab your houndstooth, fire up the cowbells and pour a little sweet tea, because this Saturday turns the heart of Dixie into the epicenter of college sports. Why? Because the Alabama Crimson Tide aren’t just playing—they’re doing double duty. First up: hoops at high noon in Madison Square Garden against the St. John’s Red Storm on FOX Sports 1. Then at 7:30 p.m. ET the Tide host unranked LSU Tigers football at Bryant-Denny—on ABC prime time. It’s a one-day flex, one university owning two major arenas: one parquet and one gridiron. If that doesn’t prove Tuscaloosa is a capital of college athletics, I don’t know what will.
Let’s start with the basketball scene. Under head man Nate Oats, Alabama has ascended into national relevance. He led the Tide men’s team to its first-ever Final Four a year ago, plus multiple SEC regular-season and tournament titles. He’s compiled a 145-63 record in six years, built elite signing classes and made Alabama basketball more than a side note—it’s a destination. Scheduling St. John’s at the Garden? That’s Oats doing what elite coaches do: throw down a gauntlet, take your crowd on a road trip, raise the ceiling. The Crimson “A” means business.
Now swing to the gridiron. Football coach Kalen DeBoer has picked up the baton from legends and is proving that the Tide’s swagger is alive and well. In 2025 they’re 7-1, ranked fourth in the AP poll, and 5-0 in SEC play. That’s not luck—that’s legacy, resources, and execution. Alabama still plays the class of the conference, and this Saturday they host LSU—a program littered with tradition—in prime time. Why? Because the “A” still carries all of the weight. If Texas Tech vs BYU is a battle of the bold, Alabama vs LSU is a tradition-shaking thunderclap.
Tuscaloosa isn’t just a college town—it’s an athletic mecca. Tailgates on the Quad make other campuses look like a poor man’s picnic. Dixie weather, a brand dripping with trophies, a fan base that lives and breathes “Roll Tide” from the 12th stack to the Rico Bell stands. Every puddle on campus reflects another elliptical swirl of the crimson and white. And yes, we see you, Auburn Tigers—claiming your moment—but in just about every sport the Tide are ahead, leading, winning. You may say “everything school,” but the scoreboard doesn’t lie.
Now back to Saturday’s double-bookmark. Early afternoon in the Garden sets the pace: the Tide open basketball against St. John’s and Rick Pitino, one of the storied programs in NYC college hoops. Oats scheduled the Garden trip because he wants to test his team, elevate his program, and purloin the spotlight. The hype will radiate coast to coast. Then later, Alabama football rolls in—on network TV at 7:30 p.m.—hosting LSU in Tuscaloosa on ABC. Yes, LSU is unranked, but LSU is still a solid football team worthy of attention in the mighty SEC, with an upset on its mind under interim coach Frank Wilson.
Alabama doesn’t settle. They show up and show out.
For fans who want more than “we’re good”—they want legacy reaffirmed, this day serves it. Two programs, same university, same weekend. Few places can do it. Fewer can do it well. Alabama can. Alabama does.
Basketball fans will watch Oats send his squad into the Garden, relish the “how good are they now?” question, and see his scheduling prowess. Football fans will watch DeBoer, his program built for dynasty, flex in the SEC’s main event slot—because his roster has the depth, the weapons, the mindset. If you don’t envy the Tide’s hum right now, you’re not watching college sports the way they should be watched.
And Auburn? Bless your heart, but you might be golfing with your ex football coach when this Tide train pulls out. Alabama fans know you’ll try to keep up—but some brands don’t wait for a refill. They’ve already won last year’s and are buying next year’s.
So 11 a.m. in New York for hoops, 7:30 p.m. in Tuscaloosa for football—two chances to watch Alabama dominate on the sport’s biggest stage. Two arenas. One brand. Endless swagger.
Alabama is athletics.
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College Football Viewing Guide, Week 11
