# 2014–15 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crimson Tide, led by 6th year head coach Anthony Grant played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to Florida. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Illinois in the first found before losing in the second round to Miami (FL).
On March 15, after losing in the SEC Tournament, head coach Anthony Grant was fired. He compiled a record of 117–85 in six seasons. Associate head coach John Brannen served as interim head coach during the Tide's two NIT games.

## Off-season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Algie Key | 0 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Junior | Decatur, GA | Transferred |
| Carl Engström | 4 | C | 7'1" | 285 | RS Junior | Ystad, Sweden | Play professionally in Europe |
| Trevor Releford | 12 | G | 6'0" | 195 | Senior | Shawnee Mission, KS | Graduated/Undrafted in 2014 NBA draft |
| Julian Goode | 13 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Nick Jacobs | 15 | F | 6'8" | 265 | Junior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Georgia Tech |
| Isiah Wilson | 33 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Senior | Troy, AL | Graduated |

### Incoming transfer

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| John Gibson | 41 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Marietta, GA | Transfer from Xavier University of Louisiana. |
* Note: Redshirt senior Christophe Varidel transferred to Alabama from Chaminade during the 2014 offseason and would have been eligible to play immediately at the beginning of the 2014–15 season because he had already graduated school and had one year of athletic eligibility remaining, but due to lingering injuries from his time at Chaminade, Varidel made a joint decision with head coach Anthony Grant to end his college basketball career before the start of the season.

## Class of 2014 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Justin Coleman PG | Birmingham, AL | Wenonah High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Jul 31, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Riley Norris SF | Albertville, AL | Albertville High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 5, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Devin Mitchell SG | Suwanee, GA | Collins Hill High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | Aug 7, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jeff Garrett SF | Gadsden, AL | Oldsmar Christian High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 19, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Alabama Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013. "2014 Alabama Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 9, 2013. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/10/2014* 7:00 pm | | Montevallo | W 81–67 | | 22 – Randolph | 8 – Taylor | 6 – Coleman | Coleman Coliseum (9,583) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/14/2014* 8:00 pm | | Towson CBE Hall of Fame Classic | W 82–54 | 1–0 | 15 – Tied | 10 – Randolph | 5 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (10,345) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 11/17/2014* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Western Carolina CBE Hall of Fame Classic | W 80–74 | 2–0 | 19 – Randolph | 10 – Taylor | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (8,830) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 11/20/2014* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Southern Miss | W 81–67 | 3–0 | 23 – Randolph | 11 – Hale | 3 – Coleman | Coleman Coliseum (9,260) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 11/24/2014* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 13 Iowa State CBE Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals | L 74–84 | 3–1 | 27 – Cooper | 6 – Norris | 4 – Tied | Sprint Center (8,321) Kansas City, MO |
| 11/25/2014* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Arizona State CBE Hall of Fame Classic Third place game | W 76–71 | 4–1 | 28 – Randolph | 9 – Blakes | 4 – Justice | Sprint Center (9,034) Kansas City, MO |
| 12/02/2014* 8:00 pm, SECN | | South Florida | W 82–71 | 5–1 | 20 – Cooper | 11 – Taylor | 8 – Tarrant | Coleman Coliseum (9,342) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 12/06/2014* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Xavier | L 84–97 | 5–2 | 23 – Tarrant | 5 – Kessens | 4 – Tied | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/13/2014* 8:00 pm | | Tennessee Tech | W 65–53 | 6–2 | 23 – Cooper | 6 – Taylor | 5 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (9,526) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 12/16/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 11 Wichita State | L 52–53 | 6–3 | 13 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tarrant | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 12/19/2014* 6:00 pm | | Stillman | W 69–49 | 7–3 | 14 – Coleman | 9 – Taylor | 3 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (9,097) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 12/21/2014* 5:30 pm, SECN | | Appalachian State | W 60–59 | 8–3 | 17 – Kessens | 10 – Kessens | 5 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (9,515) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 12/28/2014* 5:30 pm, ESPNU | | UCLA | W 56–50 | 9–3 | 24 – Tarrant | 7 – Taylor | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (13,472) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 01/02/2015* 6:00 pm | | North Florida | W 76–61 | 10–3 | 18 – Kessens | 12 – Kessens | 6 – Tarrant | Coleman Coliseum (8,821) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| SEC regular season |||||||||
| 01/06/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | | Texas A&M | W 65–44 | 11–3 (1–0) | 15 – Tarrant | 9 – Tied | 3 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (10,264) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 01/10/2015 1:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | W 56–38 | 12–3 (2–0) | 17 – Cooper | 5 – Tied | 5 – Copper | Thompson–Boling Arena (16,695) Knoxville, TN |
| 01/13/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina | L 66–68 | 12–4 (2–1) | 15 – Tarrant | 5 – Taylor | 4 – Cooper | Colonial Life Arena (11,085) South Carolina, SC |
| 01/17/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Kentucky | L 48–70 | 12–5 (2–2) | 15 – Randolph | 4 – Tied | 1 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 01/22/2015 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Arkansas | L 91–93 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (2–3) | 21 – Tarrant | 8 – Randolph | 3 – Hale | Bud Walton Arena (11,528) Fayetteville, AR |
| 01/24/2015 7:30 pm, SECN | | Auburn Iron Bowl of Basketball | W 57–55 | 13–6 (3–3) | 18 – Randolph | 7 – Tied | 3 – Coleman | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 01/27/2015 8:00 pm, ESPN | | Florida | L 50–52 | 13–7 (3–4) | 14 – Cooper | 8 – Kessens | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (10,759) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 01/31/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 1 Kentucky | L 55–70 | 13–8 (3–5) | 13 – Hale | 5 – Kessens | 3 – Tied | Rupp Arena (24,351) Lexington, KY |
| 02/04/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 62–49 | 14–8 (4–5) | 20 – Randolph | 8 – Obasohan | 2 – Kessens | Coleman Coliseum (9,343) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 02/07/2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at LSU | L 60–71 | 14–9 (4–6) | 17 – Randolph | 12 – Norris | 2 – Randolph | Maravich Center (10,355) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/10/2015 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | W 55–51 | 15–9 (5–6) | 14 – Hale | 7 – Randolph | 3 – Randolph | Humphrey Coliseum (6,386) Starkville, MS |
| 02/14/2015 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Vanderbilt | L 68–76 | 15–10 (5–7) | 15 – Randolph | 8 – Norris | 2 – Tied | Coleman Coliseum (11,501) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 02/17/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Auburn Iron Bowl of Basketball | W 79–68 | 16–10 (6–7) | 19 – Randolph | 8 – Taylor | 4 – Cooper | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| 02/21/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Georgia | L 65–66 $^{OT}$ | 16–11 (6–8) | 16 – Obasohan | 12 – Obasohan | 3 – Obasohan | Coleman Coliseum (12,141) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 02/24/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | South Carolina | W 59–51 | 17–11 (7–8) | 17 – Randolph | 7 – Norris | 5 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (8,848) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 02/28/2015 3:00 pm, FSN | | at Vanderbilt | L 66–73 | 17–12 (7–9) | 16 – Obasohan | 10 – Norris | 3 – Randolph | Memorial Gymnasium (9,928) Nashville, TN |
| 03/03/2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | L 74–82 | 17–13 (7–10) | 32 – Randolph | 11 – Taylor | 3 – Taylor | Coleman Coliseum (9,184) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 03/07/2015 1:00 pm, FSN | | at Texas A&M | W 61–60 | 18–13 (8–10) | 12 – Obasohan | 9 – Randolph | 2 – Tied | Reed Arena (9,064) College Station, TX |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| 03/12/2015 Noon, SECN | (9) | vs. (8) Florida Second round | L 61–69 | 18–14 | 15 – Tied | 7 – Norris | 4 – Randolph | Bridgestone Arena (10,563) Nashville, TN |
| NIT |||||||||
| 03/17/2015* 9:00 pm, ESPN | (6) | (3) Illinois First round | W 79–58 | 19–14 | 20 – Randolph | 7 – Tied | 5 – Randolph | Coleman Coliseum (2,348) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 03/21/2015* 11:00 am, ESPN | (6) | at (2) Miami (FL) Second round | L 66–73 | 19–15 | 20 – Cooper | 8 – Taylor | 3 – Coleman | BankUnited Center (1,979) Coral Gables, FL |
| *Non-conference game. Rankings from AP poll. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NIT is seed within region. |||||||||
Source: 2014–15 Schedule. Rolltide.com