Nate Oats Calls on Tide to amp up Intensity Following Loss to Texas

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama Men's Basketball head coach Nate Oats took the podium Saturday night, irate following the Crimson Tide's 92-88 upset loss to Texas.

"I gotta look in the mirror and look at what I'm doing to not get a winning effort out of these guys," said Oats on Saturday, "because they just out-toughed us, particularly in the second half,"

The Longhorns outrebounded Alabama 29-19 in the second half, including a 12-5 advantage for Texas on the offensive glass.

The Crimson Tide had opportunities to make up for it from the charity stripe, but fell flat, shooting 8-for-15 from the line in the second half. Alabama's 55% clip from the line was down 40 percent from the first half (11/12).

"Losing doesn't bother them enough yet. I mean, I don't know how many losses it's gonna take till it bothers them. But it's bothering me, and it bothers the coaching staff,"

Oats pointed out that Texas started 0-2 in league play and took the initiative to bounce back, calling for the same effort for his own squad.

Coach Oats will look for the Crimson Tide to make that leap Tuesday night, as they travel up I-82 to Starkville to take on Mississippi State at 8 pm CT.

For more Alabama Baseball, Basketball, and Football content from Simon Besnoy, follow him on Twitter at @SimonBesnoy and stay tuned to Tide1009.com for daily news.