# 1981–82 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his second season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season 24–7, 12–6 in SEC play, finishing in third place.
Key freshman signees were guard Ennis Whatley and forward-center Bobby Lee Hurt.
The Tide won the conference tournament championship by winning the SEC tournament, beating the Kentucky Wildcats in the final at Rupp Arena, and won an automatic bid to the 1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1976. The Tide defeated St. John's University in the opening round before losing to eventual champion North Carolina.

## Schedule and Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 27, 1981* | No. 20 | New Hampshire | W 99–65 | 1–0 | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| December 5, 1981* | No. 17 | Texas Tech | W 95–93 | 2–0 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| December 7, 1981* | No. 17 | SMU | W 69–62 | 3–0 | Moody Coliseum University Park, Texas |
| December 12, 1981 | No. 16 | Vanderbilt | W 79–68 | 4–0 (1–0) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| December 19, 1981* | No. 14 | Penn State | W 88–74 | 5–0 (1–0) | |
| December 28, 1981* | No. 12 | Delaware | W 84–62 | 6–0 (1–0) | |
| December 29, 1981* | No. 12 | Maine | W 77–61 | 7–0 (1–0) | |
| January 2, 1982 | No. 12 | Tennessee | L 67–88 | 7–1 (1–1) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| January 6, 1982 | No. 16 | Mississippi State | W 71–53 | 8–1 (2–1) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| January 9, 1982 | No. 16 | Ole Miss | W 75–64 | 9–1 (3–1) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 13, 1982 | No. 13 | LSU | W 109–86 | 10–1 (4–1) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 16, 1982 | No. 13 | No. 6 Kentucky | L 69–86 | 10–2 (4–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| January 20, 1982 | No. 16 | Georgia | W 81–66 | 11–2 (5–2) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 23, 1982 | No. 16 | Florida | W 82–71 | 12–2 (6–2) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 27, 1982 | No. 13 | Auburn | W 67–65 | 13–2 (7–2) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| January 30, 1982 | No. 13 | No. 15 Tennessee | W 77–72 | 14–2 (8–2) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 3, 1982 | No. 8 | Mississippi State | W 66–63 | 15–2 (9–2) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 6, 1982 | No. 8 | Ole Miss | L 69–79 | 15–3 (9–3) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| February 10, 1982 | No. 10 | LSU | L 68–73 | 15–4 (9–4) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| February 13, 1982 | No. 10 | No. 12 Kentucky | L 62–72 | 15–5 (9–5) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 17, 1982 | No. 19 | Georgia | W 99–85 | 16–5 (10–5) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| February 20, 1982 | No. 19 | Florida | W 70–69 | 17–5 (11–5) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| February 24, 1982 | No. 17 | Auburn | W 74–72 | 18–5 (12–5) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 27, 1982 | No. 17 | Vanderbilt | L 63–80 | 18–6 (12–6) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 4, 1982 | (3) No. 18 | (6) Georgia Second Round | W 85–74 | 19–6 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| March 5, 1982 | (3) No. 18 | (2) Tennessee Semifinals | W 56–50 | 20–6 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| March 6, 1982 | (3) No. 18 | (1) No. 15 Kentucky SEC Championship | W 48–46 | 21–6 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 14, 1982* | (4 E) No. 13 | (5 E) St. John's Second round | W 69–68 | 22–6 | Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York |
| March 19, 1982* | (4 E) No. 13 | (1 E) No. 1 North Carolina Regional semifinals - Sweet Sixteen | L 69–74 | 22–7 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. ||||||