Is Alabama basketball cursed in Birmingham? Examining the complete history

Bryan Passink got ahead of himself just minutes into the Kentucky game.

Redshirting during the 1991-92 season, he watched as his Alabama basketball teammates took an early lead over the Wildcats in the SEC Tournament championship.

“We were up eight,” Passink said, “and I was trying to figure out my ring size.”

There was no need, he soon learned.

“All of a sudden (Kentucky) hit like a thousand threes in a row,” Passink said.

Then Kentucky beat Alabama 80-54 in Birmingham.

It followed an all-time win against Arkansas the day before in which Elliot Washington hit a buzzer-beater in the semifinals.

The two back-to-back moments are one small part of Alabama’s complicated 91-year history playing in Birmingham. There has been good, but there has certainly been bad.

Younger fans really only know the latter. The Crimson Tide has lost six of its past eight games in the Magic City.

As top-seeded Alabama (29-5) prepares to play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday (1:45 p.m., CBS) at Legacy Arena, recent history begs the question: Is the Crimson Tide cursed in Birmingham?

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The beginning

Alabama started well in Birmingham. It beat Georgia Tech 34-19 on Feb. 3, 1932.

Then the Crimson Tide didn’t win there again for seven years. It lost six consecutive games in Birmingham, five to Kentucky. Then Alabama finally beat the Wildcats there in 1937 and won the next 11 games in Birmingham. Those remain Alabama’s longest losing and winning streaks in the Magic City.

Success during the Wimp Sanderson era

Alabama’s finest hour in Birmingham might have been from 1980-92.

Wimp Sanderson went 13-4 there while coaching Alabama. Many were SEC Tournament games.

“It’s been good and bad,” Sanderson said. “That’s really the way it’s been. There’s been some good games and good wins and some disappointing losses there.”

Alabama in NCAA Tournament in Birmingham

The Crimson Tide is 2-0 in NCAA Tournament games played there.

Alabama beat North Carolina A&T and New Orleans during the 1987 NCAA Tournament.

What’s happened recently?

Former Alabama forward Richard Hendrix remembered the game coming down to the last few possessions. Then Georgetown made some shots and held off Alabama.

The Hoyas, fresh off a Final Four appearance, won 70-60 on Dec. 5, 2007, in Birmingham.

“That was a really good team,” Hendrix said. “A lot of NBA talent, professional talent on that court. It was a big-time game.”

Many other Birmingham matchups have not been cupcakes. After Georgetown, there was Oklahoma State, Oregon, Clemson, Texas, Davidson and Gonzaga.

Alabama lost all of those games but Oklahoma State. The one win the Crimson Tide has in Birmingham since 2007 was against Samford.

“You’re playing really good teams when they’ve played there, and really good teams are not going to be intimidated in that environment,” Hendrix said.

Another element to consider: Every game played in Birmingham since Dec. 4, 1992, has been in December.

“The intensity and focus level isn’t nearly what it is in March,” Passink said. “It’s apples and oranges in terms of focus, the intensity, the stakes of a December game and a March game.”

Nate Oats’ history in Birmingham

Nate Oats, the current Alabama coach, is 1-2 over the past four seasons in the Magic City. Oats beat Samford in 2019 but lost to Davidson 79-78 in 2021 and Gonzaga 100-90 this season.

The Davidson loss deserves an asterisk. Alabama had a day to prep for it after scheduling the Wildcats as a COVID-19 replacement for Colorado State. Then there’s Gonzaga, the nation’s top team in adjusted offensive efficiency.

“I don’t want to make too much of the fact both of those games were in Birmingham,” Oats said. “I don’t think that had anything to do with it.”

Has the different arena affected Alabama?

Hendrix considers games in Birmingham more neutral site than home games.

“The other team can see the basket and shoot just as well because it’s not your home gym,” Hendrix said.

Hendrix noted the long backdrop behind the basket. “It can at times feel like the goal is just floating in the middle of nowhere.”

Passink, however, doesn’t think the area behind the basket makes a big difference unless you’re playing in a dome.

“It is different everywhere you go,” Passink said. “You have to adjust to it.”

Hendrix also believes, despite it being close to Tuscaloosa, there isn’t as much of a home-court advantage as some might think.

“When you play away from Tuscaloosa, when you lose the element of the students, it becomes more of a big arena with brighter lights and has an NBA-type feel to it,” Hendrix said. “It doesn’t have that intimate feeling that makes it more difficult for opponents to play.”

So, is there a Birmingham curse for Alabama basketball?

Don't let recency bias distract from the fact Alabama is 47-25 all-time in Birmingham.

Still, do the experts think there's a curse?

Passink: “No, not at all. The all-time record speaks for itself.”

Hendrix: “There’s something about it. For some reason, you just don’t seem to get the results and have the homecourt advantage you think you would have. But historically, there’s still a pretty good record of what Alabama has done.”

Sanderson: “I don’t think there’s any curse. I think we just got up there and didn’t play as well as we needed to play. We had some good wins there.”

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News/USA TODAY Network. Reach him via email: nkelly@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball and a 'curse' in Birmingham: Examining the history