MBB heads to No. 20 Alabama to open season

Game 1 • at No. 20 Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama • Coleman Coliseum

Sam Houston (0-0) vs Alabama (0-0)

Tuesday, Nov. 3 • 6:30 PM CST

TV: SECN+

RADIO: BSN

HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @Bearkats_MBB

Series vs the Crimson Tide: 0-1

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sam Houston hits the road to open the 2026-27 season at No. 20 Alabama on Tuesday evening at Coleman Coliseum.

The Bearkats are coming off a second-place finish in Conference USA and an appearance in the NIT after going 22-12 a year ago. The Crimson Tide went 25-10 last season and advanced to the Sweet 16 where they lost to eventual national champion Michigan.

This is only the second meeting between the two programs, and it has been close to three decades since they met up. Alabama defeated Sam Houston 77-58 at a multi-team event in Oklahoma City on Dec. 27, 1997.

HOW KATS HAVE FAIRED IN SEASON OPENERS
Since moving to the DI level in the 1987-88 season, Sam Houston is 25-14 in season openers, including a 7-12 mark on the road and 0-2 at neutral sites. The Bearkats have been exceptionally strong in season openers at home during that span, going a perfect 18-0 at home.
Sam Houston is 2-1 under head coach Chris Mudge in season openers. The Kats beat Pacific in his first game 64-57 in his first game in 2023, lost 91-75 at Nevada in 2024 and beat LeTourneau 95-59 last season.

SHSU VS POWER 4 OPPONENTS AND TOP 25
The Kats are 2-8 against Power 4 schools the past three seasons following losses to Oklahoma State, No. 10 Texas Tech and Utah last season. The last win for the Bearkats was an upset of Oklahoma 52-51 in the opener of the 2022-23 season in Norman followed by a 65-55 victory at Utah on Nov. 15, 2022, in Salt Lake City. The Kats have also never defeated a team ranked in the top 25 of the polls.

BUILDING OFF A SOLID FOUNDATION
Preseason All-CUSA guards junior Justin Begg and sophomore Jacobe Coleman made immediate impacts for Sam Houston in their first season in the orange and white a year ago. Coleman averaged 8.7 points per game, while Begg averaged 9.5 points and 3.63 assists before suffering a season ending injury 22 games in.
Sophomore Matt Dann also stepped up his game as the season wore on. He averaged to 3.3 PPG, 2.8 boards and led the team with 25 blocks as injuries to the backcourt increased his minutes. Junior forward Cheikh Ndiaye also is back after missing all but one game in 2025-26.

WAITING FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF REINFORCEMENTS
Sam Houston faces a major challenge this season, as the Bearkats must replace 78.5 percent of their offense from last season. With only Jacobe Coleman, Justin Begg, Matt Dann, and Cheikh Ndiaye returning, the team brings back just about 17.7 points per game, from a squad that averaged 82.3 points per game last season.

NEWCOMERS ASKED TO FILL THE VOID
The Bearkats did add some veteran depth from the transfer portal. Sam Houston brought in forward Yoda Oke from Air Force, guard Zion Pipkin who played at Wichita State, forward Enel St. Bernard who played at Indiana State and forward Riccardo Greppi who transferred from Wisconsin. Guard Keller Partain (Bethel College) and Aidan McDowell (Western Colorado) also bring collegiate playing experience to the table while freshmen Xavier Roberson, Rylan Kelly, Mahliq Guiseppi-Kitson and Alex Loustau figure to regularly contribute this season as well.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Justin Begg

Jacobe Coleman

Matt Dann

Riccardo Greppi

Rylan Kelly

Aidan McDowell

Yoda Oke

Keller Partain

Zion Pipkin

Xavier Roberson

Enel St. Bernard

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