Nate Oats Compares Alabama's Defense to Last Year's Final Four Team

The Crimson Tide head coach states that Alabama's defense must perform at an "elite" level against BYU in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.

Mar 23, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats reacts in the second half against the St. Mary's Gaels during the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

NEWARK, N.J. –– While it may be in the bottom-10 in Division I for points allowed per game with 81.0, Alabama men's basketball has shown improvement this season compared to 2023-24.

The Crimson Tide currently ranks No. 26 in defensive efficiency on KenPom and is No. 3 in that category based on strength of schedule––which has been the toughest in the country.

Alabama has made some additions this offseason to make this happen, including the hiring of longtime NBA defensive assistant Brian Adams, two-time Big Ten All-Defensive Team member Clifford Omoruyi and freshman guard Labaron Philon who leads the Crimson Tide in steals per game by a wide margin. This side of the ball has been intensified and emphasized throughout the season.

"I'd appreciate it if you guys put a lot more talk out there about how our defense isn't good enough to win this game so that we can show our guys that nobody believes in them like last year," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said during Wednesday's press conference. "Yeah, our defense wasn't any good last year. I think we weren't even in the top 100 in defense. It was pretty easy to show our guys that our defense isn't good enough."

"I think this year our defense is significantly better. It's still not where we'd like it to be. It's going to have to get significantly better to make another Final Four run. Because the next two teams we play, if we're fortunate to even have a second game, BYU has got the No. 1 offense in the country, I think since February 12th or something like that, and then Duke and Arizona are two of the best offenses in the country, as well."

As Oats said, the Cougars have a top-tier offense. If there's any game where Alabama's defense needs to shine in order for the Crimson Tide to succeed and advance to the Elite Eight, it might be this one.

"Hopefully, we continue to play well on offense, but our defense is going to have to be at an elite level with BYU," Oats said. "They're in transition, they're good in the half court, they're good on the boards. They're pretty much good at everything, they're great in pick-and-rolls, so our defense will get tested against these guys on Thursday."

Alabama, Arizona, BYU and Duke are each top-25 in the country in scoring with tons of positives in the offensive efficiency numbers and metrics. Should the Crimson Tide advance to the Elite Eight, both the Wildcats and Blue Devils will present a challenge where the defense will need to step up again.

"I think a lot of who's going to come out of here is who plays the best defense, and some of these other teams have had better defensive stretches than maybe we've had," Oats said. "I think we've got to get our guys' attention, which we have, and we're capable of being a great defensive team, and that's what we're going to have to do over these next couple days if we're going to get out of this four-team bracket here."

We'll get a glimpse of Alabama's Sweet 16 defense against BYU on Thursday night.

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