
Oats Seeking More Maturity From Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Less than two weeks ago, Alabama came into Coleman Coliseum undefeated in SEC play and a heavy favorite over Ole Miss. Two hours later, the Crimson Tide scored its lowest point total of the season (64) as Alabama was defeated at home by a gritty, physical, but less-talented Ole Miss team.

Since then, Alabama has won two games, defeating top 10 Kentucky in Rupp Arena and unranked Vanderbilt at home. Despite the victories, the loss still haunts Alabama head coach Nate Oats. As Alabama prepares to face a struggling LSU squad inside Coleman Coliseum on Saturday, Oats wants to see this Alabama team reach new levels of maturity not yet achieved by this year's team.
“We’ve done the deal where we overlooked a team a little bit,” Oats said on Friday. “Ole Miss, I have no idea why we overlooked them, they were undefeated at the time we played them. But I believe we did. So we’re gonna have to see how mature we are to see what kind of effort we bring for the entire 40 minutes tomorrow. That’s what I’m most curious to see.”
“Here’s the deal. LSU’s only won one game in conference, but they’ve got talent,” Oats said. “Cam Carter, if you look at SEC-only games, he’s fourth in the league in scoring, they’ve got other guys who are certainly capable of scoring. They’ve got some young freshmen that are getting better as the year goes on.
“They’ve outrebounded teams frequently enough. We’ve had some issues with rebounding at times this year. They’ve gotten to the free throw line, I think they’re 10-0 when they’ve shot more free throws than their opponents. We’ve got to be able to guard without fouling, we’ve had an issue with that. Some stuff we’ve had issues with, they do well. Our transition D has to be better, and our turnovers, we’ve got to make sure we’re taking care of the ball and getting quality shots up.”
LSU comes into the game 12-6 overall and 1-4 in SEC play. The only victory for the Tigers in the conference this season came against Arkansas.
Oats wants to see the leadership for Alabama step up, although he was complimentary of Alabama's offense over the past few games. Despite the two 100-point showings, Oats remains concerned about Alabama's defense, which ranks No. 45 in Kenpom, the lowest of any team inside the Kenpom top 15.
“I’m very curious to see whether we’ve got enough leadership to play 40 minutes on the defensive end tomorrow night,” Oats said. “I hope that our guys are taking these guys seriously. Obviously, we’re going to be the better team going in. But that doesn’t really matter. How many times do you watch college basketball and this team is supposed to win, they’ve got more wins, their record’s better. If you don’t come ready to play, none of that matters.”
Wyatt Fulton is the TIde 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.
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