The Alabama men’s basketball team will go on an eight-day trip to Canada in August, which will feature three games against local universities and UA released full details on Monday via its sports information office.
The Crimson Tide will depart Aug. 4 and return Aug. 11, and will make stops in Montreal and Ottawa before returning home to Tuscaloosa.
Per NCAA rules regarding a foreign tour, Alabama will hold 10 days of practices prior to departing Tuscaloosa. The Tide’s trip will begin on Aug. 4 when it departs Tuscaloosa for Atlanta. After spending a night there, Alabama will fly to Montreal on the morning of Aug. 5, where it will spend two days. Following its stay in Montreal, the Tide will travel to Ottawa on Aug. 7 where it will stay for the next three days.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to take our team to Canada this August,” Johnson said in the UA release. “To have an opportunity to expose our guys to different cultures and historic cities such as Montreal and Ottawa is terrific. It will also allow our team to have practices with our returning players and our new players, which will only better prepare us for next season. There is no doubt that our team will get an educational, social and basketball experience that will last a lifetime.”
Alabama will play three games against three Canadian collegiate teams over a span of its five days in Montreal and Ottawa. The first game will be played on Aug. 7 against McGill University at 7 p.m. The Redmen are coming off a record-setting season in which they ended with a 24-11 overall record.
On Aug. 9, the Tide will play the first of two games in Ottawa when it takes on Carleton University at 7 p.m. Carleton finished the 2016-17 season with a 22-1 overall record but lost four seniors from last season’s squad. Hosting six NCAA teams prior to last season, Carleton finished a perfect 6-0, including a victory over eventual Missouri Valley Conference champion and NCAA Tournament participant Wichita State.
The Crimson Tide will conclude its game schedule in Canada when it takes on the University of Ottawa at 6:30 p.m. The Gee-Gees are coming off a 16-3 season a year ago, finishing runners-up to Carleton in the North Division.
Reach Cecil Hurt at cecil@tidesports.com or 205-722-0225.
