A week that has brought disruption and national scrutiny to the Alabama men’s basketball program for a second time this season will end Saturday when the Tide hosts Arkansas in Coleman Coliseum.

The 1 p.m. CT tip off will mark the second game star freshman Brandon Miller has played, and the first on his home court, since Tuesday’s courtroom revelations that he was present and had contact with Darius Miles the night of Jamea Harris’ murder in Jan. 15 — but is not a suspect or facing charges.

As Nate Oats continued to face questions Friday about the program’s handling of the situation — and with an ESPN television crew in the room — he also stressed the importance of Saturday’s game.

“It’s a big game,” he said. “We’re a game up with two games to go. If you’re planning on winning an SEC championship, you can’t give away home games. We said that from the beginning.”

At 14-1, the Tide maintains a one-game lead in the SEC over Texas A&M, which has won six consecutive games and sits 13-2. If the Aggies beat Mississippi State on Saturday and Ole Miss on Tuesday, then the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament will be at stake when Alabama travels to College Station on March 4.

But if Alabama beats Arkansas on Saturday and Texas A&M loses to Mississippi State, then Tide would have a chance to clinch the SEC outright and lock up the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament when it hosts Auburn on Wednesday night.

The bottom line: Saturday’s game in Coleman Coliseum has meaning for Alabama.

It also has meaning for the Razorbacks, which remain in the NCAA tournament field as a projected No. 8 or No. 9 seed despite falling short of preseason expectations. Arkansas was No. 10 in the preseason Associated Press poll and picked by media to finish second in the SEC, but lost forward Trevon Brazile to a season-ending knee injury and had the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2022, guard Nick Smith, miss significant time because of a knee injury.

Smith has returned to play in the past four games, scoring 26 points Tuesday against Georgia on 5-of-8 three-point shooting.

“Arkansas is much better than they were the first time we played them, I think. I think we’re better, too,” Oats said. “But getting Nick Smith back has been a big addition for them. They lacked three-point shooting a little bit. He had five threes his last game. We’re going to figure out how to guard him with more shooting on the floor.”

Smith did not play when Alabama beat the Razorbacks, 84-69, on Jan. 11 in Fayetteville. Arkansas was ranked No. 15 at the time but is now unranked.

Saturday is Alabama’s second-to-last home game but will serve as senior day to accommodate parents’ travel plans. Three seniors will be honored: forward Noah Gurley, forward Dom Welch and walk-on guard Adam Cottrell.

“Walk-on came our first year, kind of preferred walk-on that we recruited,” Oats said of Cottrell, who made a three-pointer in four minutes off the bench during last Saturday’s blowout win over Georgia. “Unbelievable kid. He’s on academic scholarship here. It’s been nice. We’ve be able to get some big wins where he’s been able to get more minutes than the typical walk-on would be able to get.”

Gurley played four seasons at Furman before joining Alabama in 2021 as a part-time starter. He shifted to a bench role this season with the early emergence of freshman Noah Clowney.

Welch transferred to Alabama last year after four seasons at St. Bonaventure, and was known to Alabama’s staff when they were at Buffalo and Welch was a prolific high school scorer in that area. Welch had a calf injury, then a setback to that injury, that kept him sidelined until late December, and he has seen fluctuating minutes off the bench since.

“The injury limited his time with us, but he had a great practice for us today. His leadership’s been good, his attitude’s been unbelievable,” Oats said of Welch. “Both of those guys have had really good ways about them of leading without playing a ton of minutes.”

Alabama decided not to honor Jahvon Quinerly again after he was part of senior day ceremonies last year. Oats said he approached Quinerly about playing a sixth season but no decision has been made.

Saturday’s game could offer a shift back toward normalcy again for Alabama, which navigated a similar week in mid-January when Miles arrested four days after the win at Arkansas. At the time, Oats was asked if any other players were involved in Miles’ incident and neither confirm nor denied it. Oats cited an “ongoing investigation” and did not reveal Miller or Bradley’s role as witnesses.

Five weeks later, those players’ names were revealed in a scheduled and expected court hearing, prompting national scrutiny toward Oats, Byrne and their actions.

Amid the second disruption, Miller scored a career-high 41 points in Wednesday night’s overtime win in South Carolina. Alabama’s other players, though, generally struggled to score and Oats said after that game they would need to play better Saturday.

“They’re doing a great job understanding that we’re still focused on the task at hand while still understanding how tragic and serious this situation is,” Oats said Friday. “I think they’re pretty good. People asked about our play Wednesday night. We didn’t play our best game. It’s hard for me to know exactly.

“I feel like the pulse of the team is pretty good, though, to honest with you. If today’s practice was any indication, energy was good and our guys were doing a great job doing what we’re asking them to do to prepare for Arkansas.

“I think our guys will be ready to go.”

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