Nate Oats Following Alabama's 81-54 Win Over Kent State

TUSCALOOSA, Ala — Following Alabama's strong 81-54 victory over Kent State at Coleman Coliseum on Sunday, men's basketball coach Nate Oats spoke to the media about his team's performance in the 27-point win.

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Oats began his postgame press conference by acknowledging his defense's good performance in Sunday's victory, stating, "We got a much better defensive effort, so it'll be a much better Christmas break for us." The Crimson Tide held Kent State to less than sixty points in Sunday's victory. This was Alabama's second time holding a team under sixty points in a game, after holding UNC Ashville to 54 in their season opener.

Oats and his team were determined to improve defensively after allowing 90 points to North Dakota on Wednesday, with Fighting Hawks Guard Treysen Eaglestaff dropping 40 points in the close loss to the Tide, with Oats saying, "We did make a big point emphasis on defense, especially after that debacle up in North Dakota."

Alabama's fifth-year head coach detailed his game plan for this game against Kent State, noting that he intended to limit Golden Flashes guard Jalen Sullinger, who finished the night 1-14 from the field with only 7 points. Oats stated, "I think we did a little bit of a better job being locked into a perimeter guy that could kind of get going," with Sullinger shooting 1-7 from downtown in Kent State's loss.

During Nate Oats' press conference, the Tide Mens Basketball coach was confronted with a difficult question from none other than Oats' middle daughter Jocelyn, who asked Alabama's head coach which daughter was his favorite. Oats responded, "Well, I only have one daughter who made the game, so I don't know if that helps you." He continued: "Probably shouldn't answer that one cause that'll get me into some trouble so."

Alabama demonstrated strong defensive efficiency in their win against Kent State on Sunday, managing to do so while committing few fouls. Kent State attempted only 13 free throws during the game. When asked about the significance of this performance, coach Nate Oats stated, "The most efficient way to score is to get to the free-throw line. So, if you want to have an efficient defense, you need to keep teams off the free-throw line." He added, "Now, they obviously shot the ball much better than we did, so it's a good thing we managed to keep them off the line." Alabama shot 18 of 35 from the charity stripe, while Kent State was more efficient, hitting 10 of 13 free throws.

Nate Oats delivered a strong message to his players following the game against North Dakota. In his press conference, he stated, "If you're not going to guard, you're just not going to stay in the game." He emphasized, "I'm not a coach that likes to yank guys a lot; I like to give them confidence. But when it comes to effort, we've got no problems pulling guys." This message was evident in today's win, where the Tide showcased exceptional defense, limiting Kent State to just 28% shooting from the floor.

Alabama will have the next week off for Christmas break before returning to Coleman Coliseum on Sunday, December 29th, 2024, to face South Dakota State.

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