Nate Oats Addresses Alabama Being Picked 5th in SEC Preseason Poll

Oats actually encouraged the media poll's placing of the Crimson Tide this season.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — On Tuesday, the preseason SEC media poll was released, and the Alabama Crimson Tide was picked to finish fifth in the conference for the 2023-24 season.

At SEC Tipoff '24 on Wednesday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats spoke about the Crimson Tide's placing, and compared it to years prior. 

"What were we picked last year?" Oats asked the room. "Fifth. What were we picked in '21, my second year? I think we were picked fifth if I remember correctly."

Oats' memory serves him well. Last October, Alabama was picked fifth, behind Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn. Before the 2020-21 season, Alabama was also picked fifth, behind Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU and Florida. 

The common theme between those seasons? Alabama went on to win the league, both in the regular season and in the tournament. 

"Shows how smart you guys are," Oats said, smiling. "I'll take fifth."

"I mean, look, I think the pre-season polls are great. We like to get a lot of fan interest around the programs. I think SEC basketball has been raised to a new level at a record number of teams in the tournament. I think a lot of this stuff is to generate fan interest. If you want to generate some fan interest, go ahead."

This season Alabama was once again picked fifth, this time behind Tennessee, Texas A&M, Kentucky and Arkansas. The performance of Oats' teams in the past have shown that, obviously, the preseason polls don't have any bearing on the regular season, but Oats joked about how Alabama's fifth-place ranking has yielded some positive results. 

In fact, the highest Alabama has been picked to finish under Oats was second in the poll prior to the 2021-22 season. That season, Alabama went 9-9 in the league and was a 6-seed in the SEC Tournament. 

"If you can pick us fifth again next year, that would be great," Oats said to a chorus of laughter in the Grand Bohemian ballroom. "Would I like to get picked fifth and finish first again Yes, I would. But I think that's 14 teams' goal to finish first. [...] What matters is how you play when the ball tips up here in three weeks and how you play in SEC games. That's what we're concerned with, getting better every day."

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