Alabama men’s basketball will play Arizona in a neutral-site game in Phoenix this December before the two teams will meet again in a neutral-site game Birmingham in 2024, the University of Arizona confirmed Monday to the Arizona Daily Star.

Alabama has yet to announce the series but FanDuel reported Monday morning that the two schools were finalizing a deal to meet Dec. 20 in Phoenix’s Footprint Center.

The return game during the 2024-25 season would presumably be played in Birmingham’s Legacy Arena as part of the “C.M. Newton Classic” that began in 2021. Last December, Alabama met Gonzaga in the venue to return a neutral-site series that began the prior season in Seattle.

Arizona and Alabama have met four times previously. They played a home-and-home series in 2017 and 2018, with the Wildcats winning in Tucson before the Tide won the next season in Tuscaloosa.

Arizona is the first reported major non-conference opponent for Alabama and coach Nate Oats, who has assembled non-conference schedules that were among the toughest in college basketball the past two seasons. The Wildcats won the Pac-12 tournament this season and were ranked No. 8 in the final Associated Press poll before losing to No. 15 seed Princeton in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Alabama will also participate in the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida this November, FanDuel reported last year. The field, which has yet to be officially announced, will also include Ohio State and Oregon.

Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne served in the same role at Arizona from 2010-17. In 2020, Alabama scheduled a home-and-home football series with Arizona for 2032 and 2033.

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.