Alabama men’s basketball will start the 2022-23 season ranked 20th. Nate Oats will look to lead the Tide back into the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.

Alabama entered last year at No. 14, but after a disappointing postseason, finished 14-9, was unranked and received votes in the final Associated Press Top 25. Oats’ roster is the fifth, and lowest ranked, among Southeastern Conference schools listed.

Senior guard Jahvon Quinerly is the leading scorer returning for Alabama, averaging 13.8 points across 33 plays and 27 starts. The three other players that produced more than seven points a contest either graduated or left via the NBA Draft.

While Quinerly hopes to return toward the end of December after tearing his ACL, first-year forward Brandon Miller enters with high expectations. The 6-foot-9 Tennessee forward was evaluated as one of the top prospects in the 2021 recruiting class.

Five of the Tide’s opponents are ranked: at No. 3 Houston on Dec. 10; No. 4 Kentucky on Jan. 7; at No. 10 Arkansas on Jan. 11; at No. 15 Auburn on Feb. 11; at No. 11 Tennessee on Feb. 15; No. 10 Arkansas on Feb. 25; No. 15 Auburn on March 1.

(Alabama could play No. 21 Oregon in the second game of the Phil Knight Invitational.)

What we learned about Alabama basketball after first 2022-23 practice

AP Poll

1. North Carolina

2. Gonzaga

3. Houston

4. Kentucky

T5. Baylor

T5. Kansas

7. Duke

8. UCLA

9. Creighton

10. Arkansas

11. Tennessee

12. Texas

13. Indiana

14. TCU

15. Auburn

16. Villanova

17. Arizona

18. Virginia

19. San Diego State

20. Alabama

21. Oregon

22. Michigan

23. Illinois

24. Dayton

25. Texas Tech

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].