In stark contrast to Grant's quiet, unassuming demeanor, Johnson offered enthusiasm and pep throughout the summer months, attending numerous dinners, visiting football practices, and appearing on television, all to further promote the basketball program.

[4] Obasohan exceedingly fulfilled those responsibilities, upping his scoring average from 6.2 to 17.6 points per game and refining his defensive skills, while also serving as the driving force behind the team's emotion and energy.

[6] On March 15, three days after Alabama's loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament, UA athletic director Bill Battle released a statement announcing that Anthony Grant would not be retained as the head coach thereafter,[11] presumably due to major fan dissatisfaction with the consistently mediocre seasons his teams produced, as evidenced by declining home attendance numbers.

[15] Then, on April 1, reports indicated that Marshall would soon visit Tuscaloosa with his family while pondering whether or not to take the Alabama job; however, later that day, it was confirmed that he had decided to stay at Wichita State.

[42] Alabama announced on December 10 that freshman point guard Dazon Ingram had suffered a fractured left foot in practice two days prior and would miss the remainder of the season following surgery.

[45] Sophomore guard Justin Coleman saw his playing time suddenly drop for a period from January 23 to February 2 due to a nagging turf toe injury that he aggravated in practice.

[50] In reference to a quote made by head coach Avery Johnson in his introductory press conference on April 8,[51] the unofficial slogan of the team's season was "#BuckleUp".

[54] Alabama kicked off the season with a home exhibition game against the Division II Trevecca Nazarene Trojans on November 6, which the Crimson Tide won handily, 87–65.

[57] After the embarrassing loss, Alabama returned to friendlier confines to win a 105–93 shootout over Louisiana–Lafayette in which the Crimson Tide displayed a much-improved shooting proficiency with six players reaching double-digit point totals.

[58] With a bounce-back win in its pocket, Alabama next headed to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando for the AdvoCare Invitational, where in the first round the team faced #23 Xavier.

[59] However, the Tide bounced back in a huge way, knocking off 20th-ranked (albeit shorthanded) Wichita State 64–60 the very next day in the consolation game for the school's first win versus a ranked opponent since the 2010–11 season.

Over the final seven minutes, the Golden Eagles whittled the lead down to three and had an opportunity to force overtime with two three-point attempts in the last seconds, but both missed and Alabama survived.

[62] After taking a crucial blow by losing Dazon Ingram for the rest of the season due to injury, Alabama trudged on, traveling to Greenville, South Carolina, to face the Clemson Tigers.

But with 29 seconds left, Alabama's Shannon Hale stole a Clemson inbounds pass and broke away for an easy dunk to give the Tide the lead for good in the 51–50 win, its fourth straight away from home.

Justin Coleman, back in his hometown of Birmingham, lit up the BJCC with a career-high 24 points on seven made field goals and six free throws to keep Alabama in the game.

Although Alabama senior guard Arthur Edwards nailed a three-pointer with six seconds remaining, Oregon hit two more free throws to put the game out of reach.

Alabama fell victim to early foul trouble for its post players, particularly starter Jimmie Taylor, and blew an eight-point halftime lead, losing the game 74–66.

[72] However, Alabama's confidence evidently did not waver despite opening SEC play with an 0–2 record, because in its next game against 19th-ranked and 15–0 South Carolina (which, along with SMU, represented the only remaining undefeated Division I teams), the Tide attacked the Gamecocks early and often.

Alabama turned a 19–4 start and a 35–22 halftime lead into a 73–50 onslaught to give South Carolina its first loss of the season and head coach Avery Johnson his first ever SEC win.

[75] With the team bereft of any semblance of momentum, having lost four of its last five games, Alabama returned home for a huge matchup against spectacular freshman forward Ben Simmons and the LSU Tigers.

After a Tim Quarterman layup gave LSU a two-point lead with 32 seconds to go, Alabama was unable to get a quality shot off before the buzzer, resulting in a 72–70 win for the Tigers.

With the game tied at 57 with less than a minute to go, Arthur Edwards swished a three-pointer to take the lead, and off of a steal Obasohan converted a layup while being fouled and made the ensuing free throw to seal the comeback win, 63–57.

Alabama enjoyed nice contributions from essentially every scholarship player, including 16 points from Obasohan and a career-high ten rebounds from freshman forward Donta Hall, and the Tide held on for a thrilling 63–62 win over the Aggies.

The Crimson Tide's offense was anemic aside from the play of Retin Obasohan, Shannon Hale, and Jimmie Taylor, who combined to account for 85 percent of Alabama's points.

[82] With its momentum having taken a major hit and its NCAA tournament potential in question, Alabama made a quick turnaround and went back on the road to visit #16 Kentucky to complete the season series with the Wildcats.

Four and a half minutes into the game, Alabama trailed only 9–7, but then the team suffered a massive scoring drought, going 1-for-16 from the field for a long stretch before hitting two shots right before halftime.

In front of the fifth and final Coleman Coliseum sellout crowd of the season, Alabama overcame a 17/29 free-throw shooting performance, a ten-point deficit in the second half, and a double-double from Auburn senior forward Cinmeon Bowers to escape with a 65–57 win.

Multiple dunks by Donta Hall (who finished with a career-high ten points) and Michael Kessens fueled the energy for the team, and a block of Bowers's shot by Retin Obasohan with less than a minute to go allowed the Crimson Tide to pull away at the free throw line for the win.

Alabama had some star shooters of its own, with Obasohan leading the team with 17 points—all scored in the second half—and Norris, Edwards, and Justin Coleman also contributing at least 15 points apiece.

But then the Tide suffered a drought that lasted five and a half minutes to allow UK to take an eight-point lead, which the Wildcats eventually extended to ten by halftime.