Nate Oats Following Alabama's 97-90 Victory Over North Dakota

Following the Crimson Tide's 97-90 victory over North Dakota, Alabama head coach Nate Oats spoke with the media about his team's performance on Wednesday night.

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Nate Oats began his post-game press conference by discussing his team's lackluster performance in the first half, which resulted in the Crimson Tide falling behind 38-35 at halftime in Wednesday night's game. Oats stated, "Our guys didn't really come out ready to play," with the Tide committing 13 turnovers and allowing the Fighting Hawks to score numerous second-chance points.

Alabama's head coach went on to comment about his team's defensive effort against North Dakota's leading scorer, Treysen Eaglestaff, who scored 40 points against the Tide on Wednesday. Oats stated, "Our matchup on Eaglestaff wasn't great to start... I don't know we ever got the correct matchup because he ended up with forty. That was the best individual performance anyone has had on us all year." Prior to this game, the most points the Tide have allowed to an individual player this year in a game was Rutgers guard Dylan Harper, who scored 37 against the Tide in Las Vegas on November 27th when the Tide defeated the Scarlet Knights 95-90.

Oats went on to say how successful his offense was in the second half, with Alabama scoring 62 points compared to 35 in the first half, and how the Tide only made one turnover. Alabama's head coach went on to laud Nelson's performance in front of his hometown tonight, stating, "All in all, Grant played pretty well coming back home; I know he had 23 and 10."

Oats commented on his defense's performance tonight, saying, "We got to have guys rebound the ball a little better when they're in." Alabama surrendered 20 second-chance points and 16 offensive rebounds. Oats added, "We gotta do a better job defensively." The Crimson Tide allowed 90 points in tonight's victory over a 4-9 North Dakota squad.

Alabama will return to Tuscaloosa to rest before their next game against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Sunday, December 22nd, 2024, at Coleman Coliseum.

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