How Alabama Basketball Can Attack Houston's Notorious Defense

Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats previews Tuesday night's matchup against perhaps the best defensive program in the nation over the past few years.

Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) and Alabama forward Grant Nelson (4) celebrate against Illinois at Legacy Arena at BJCC in Birmingham, AL on Wednesday, Nov 20, 2024. / Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

Alabama basketball's renowned offense has gained massive recognition since head coach Nate Oats' arrival in 2019.

The fast-paced heavy three-point shooting strategy has helped the Crimson Tide rise in the ranks throughout each season, most notably the program's first-ever Final Four appearance this past one. Oats has pulled the strings to three seasons in the top-5 in the nation in the points per game category, including the lone spot at the top of the mountain last season.

No. 9 Alabama is off to a solid start offensively this season, as its 89.6 points per game are 13th in the country despite a couple of sloppy battles. However, the Tide will need to buckle down against No. 6 Houston, its first opponent in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

It is absolutely indisputable that the Houston Cougars' defense has been the most stout and prominent in all of college basketball over the last few years. For reference, the Cougars have been among the top-3 in the nation in the fewest points allowed per game in every season since 2020-21. Simply put, it is very difficult to score against head coach Kelvin Sampson, and through four games this season, Houston is allowing the second-fewest points per game (50.8) in all of college basketball.

"I think that if you attack Houston correctly, the ball moves," Oats said during Monday evening's press conference. "You can't be selfish and beat these guys. They're going to put two on the ball, they're going to put some ball screens, they're going to take your best guards out of it blitzing them. The ball's got to move.

"If the ball moves, typically you've got more guys scoring because it finds different guys, it moves and finds them throughout the game. I think if you play the way you need to play to beat these guys, the ball is going to move and you're going to have multiple guys end up scoring the ball pretty well."

Alabama's 100-87 win over then-No. 25 Illinois in the C.M. Newton Classic on Nov. 20 was very beneficial to the team morale after falling to Purdue on the road the game before, but the player stats were an extreme surprise. Preseason All-American point guard Mark Sears shockingly didn’t score a single point and Alabama center Clifford Omoruyi had just six in just 15 minutes of action due to foul trouble.

The Crimson Tide received a ton of praise during the offseason for its plethora of depth and it showed that evening as forward Grant Nelson tallied 23 points and guards Labaron Philon, Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. each put up 16-plus points.

Oats believes that this wide range of scorers could be the key to breaking through Houston's defense and the most recent example against what Oats has called a "super-talented" team in Illinois is proof of that.

Of course, Illinois, along with a heavy majority of the rest of college basketball, isn't even in the same stratosphere as Houston defensively, but swinging the rock to create several scoring options might be the only way to efficiently put up points against the Cougars...and Alabama's depth just might be up for the heavy task.

This showdown between Alabama's unstoppable force of an offense against Houston's immovable object of a defense will tipoff in Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 8 p.m. CT on TBS.