Alabama Basketball Benefitted From Competition and Scheduling at Players Era Festival

The Crimson Tide head coach had nothing but praise for his team's experience in Las Vegas.

Nov 26, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide Guard Aden Holloway fends of Houston Cougar guard L.J. Cryer (4) during the second half at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey (Tyge) O'Donnell-Imagn Images / Jeffrey (Tyge) O'Donnell-Imagn Images

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The No. 10 Alabama basketball program continues its non-conference schedule this week as they head to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on the No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels. The Crimson Tide is fresh off it's multi-team event in Las Vegas where they competed in the Players Era Festival.

Alabama was able to face three Power Four opponents across a five day stretch in order to boost their resume and prepare themselves for what lies ahead this year.

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats enjoyed his team's road trip much better than his friend and colleague in UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who took his program to the Maui Invitational.

"Yeah, we've always done an MTE," Oats said. "Theirs [UCONN's] is a little different, they played three straight games. We're planning on going back to the Players Era event. I thought it was great. The accommodations were great. You were in the same building that you played in at MGM. They did a great job taking care of us. The food was great. The competition was good. The best officials in the country doing it. Yeah, we're going back next year to the Players Era."

Dan Hurley reflects on Maui:

"I'm not doing another 3-game MTE again. Moving forward, we will only play home-and-homes or single-game events... I don't think I'll ever do a 3-game MTE again. There's zero chance I ever do that again" pic.twitter.com/PAogpBHNi6

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) December 1, 2024

Alabama and UConn's circumstances weren't exactly the same as the travel from Storrs to Maui is more difficult than Tuscaloosa to Las Vegas, but Oats elaborated his praise for the event, highlighting the scheduling as it allows the Crimson Tide to simulate postseason scenarios."

"I know Dan [Hurley] pretty well and I haven't talked to him since the Maui experience, but that's a long flight to Maui. They played three-straight games. So it's a little different. I'll say this though, we don't have that long of a flight, but if you're going to win a conference tournament you've got to win three-straight games back-to-back-to-back. I don't think it's the worst for us to have to play some back-to-back games so that we've got an idea of what it looks like. Now the NCAA Tournament is never back-to-back, but it is two games in three days. So I thought ours was pretty good, you went back-to-back, had two days off and then played one. I think the original plan was to go Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, which wouldn't've been bad, you've got the back-to-back and then one game there where you've got one day between, which is kind of a combination of SEC Tournament where it's every day you're playing and NCAA Tournament where it's every other. I liked our MTE. I thought the competition was good. It would've been even better if we'd have won the last game. I thought it made us better. I thought everything was top-notch out there," Oats said.