Miami basketball added another high-end nonconference test to Jai Lucas’ second season.
The Hurricanes will host Alabama on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at the Watsco Center in the 2026 SEC/ACC Challenge. Miami announced the matchup Friday, with tip time and TV designation still to come. ESPN will carry the Challenge across its networks and app.
This game gives Miami a measuring-stick matchup before ACC play tightens. Alabama comes off a 25-10 season, a 13-5 SEC finish and a No. 16 ranking in the final AP poll. Nate Oats’ team also led college basketball with 91.2 points per game, so the Hurricanes will face one of the sport’s fastest, most aggressive offenses.
Miami also enters with momentum after Lucas led the Canes to a 26-9 record, a 13-5 ACC finish and a No. 24 final AP ranking in his first season at the helm. The Hurricanes reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Purdue, 79-69.
Alabama will visit Coral Gables for the first time since 2015, when Miami beat the Crimson Tide 73-66 in the NIT. The programs have met four times, with the most recent game coming in 2021, when Alabama beat Miami 96-64 in Orlando at the ESPN Events Invitational.
The Alabama game strengthens a Miami schedule that already includes Florida in Tampa on Nov. 2 and TCU in the Players Era 16 on Nov. 24 in Las Vegas. Miami could also face Michigan or Creighton in that event.
Lucas wants Miami to act like a national program, and this schedule reflects that. Florida, TCU, Alabama and a loaded Players Era field should give the Canes multiple chances to build an NCAA Tournament résumé before January.
The Watsco Center also gets the type of opponent that should energize the fan base. Alabama brings pace, scoring and name recognition. Miami gets a chance to prove that last season’s turnaround launched something sustainable rather than a one-year spark.
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