Nate Oats 'Some Guys Still Figuring It Out' in SEC Play

The Crimson Tide endured a significant loss on Saturday to the Tennessee Volunteers but Alabama gets no reprieve as the best team in the league comes into Coleman on Wednesday.

The Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team went to Knoxville this past weekend and were thumped by the Tennessee Vols 91-71 for its first loss in conference play.

The loss ended Alabama's six-game winning streak and dropped them from a first place tie into a second-place tie in the conference standings. It's not the first time the Crimson Tide has gone on the road and lost in Knoxville and it's not the first time the Tide has been blown out under head coach Nate Oats.

In 2022-23 the Crimson Tide suffered a 24-point road  loss to the Oklahoma Sooners, a team that failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Less than a month later Alabama lost in Knoxville by nine points, but after both losses the Crimson Tide bounced back in a major way. 

A 57-point home victory over Vanderbilt followed the Oklahoma loss, while a 49-point home victory over Georgia followed the Tennessee loss. 

The 2022-23 Alabama basketball went on to win the Southeastern Conference regular season and tournament titles while earning a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

This year's team's place in the NCAA Tournament is all but secure as ESPN's Joe Lunardi currently predicts the Tide as a No. 5 seed for the big dance, but how far off from the program's primary goals is the 2023-24 Alabama team?

Has this year's roster, which features nine new scholarship players, got the same mental makeup to respond to the gut punch that Tennessee delivered and play well against the SEC's top team?

"Some of the guys - we've practiced twice, Monday and Tuesday. I thought some of them responded appropriately Monday. I thought a lot more of them responded appropriately today. We made that point. We lost to - what was it, after Tennessee it was the Georgia game? And after the Oklahoma game was the Vanderbilt game. Yeah, we responded to those losses pretty well last year," said Oats on Tuesday. "Now, Auburn's not Vanderbilt and Georgia of last year. They're the best team in our league right now. So, I told our guys it's going to take an effort like we played with against Vanderbilt and Georgia after losses last year just to get a win period. We're not going to blow these guys out like we did. Your point's made, we did respond well last year. I think some of these guys understand what it takes to compete in this league and I think some guys are still trying to figure it out."

Oats was quick to point out the difference between the Auburn squad coming into Coleman on Wednesday and the Vanderbilt and Georgia teams that served as rebound opponents last year. 

Vanderbilt was eliminated in the NIT quarterfinals and the Georgia Bulldogs finished 16-16 missing all post-season action while Auburn enters Coleman as the No. 8 team in America, unbeaten in SEC play and riding an 11-game winning streak where all 11 wins have been by double-digits or more.

The game is crucial for Alabama's hopes in defending its regular season SEC crown as a loss to the Tigers drops the Tide two games behind the leader with a trip to Neville Arena still on deck. 

If the Tide wants to secure its first top-10 win of the season on Wednesday they'll have to limit the turnovers and second chance points that they gifted Tennessee on Saturday. 

Alabama has shown offensive prowess throughout the year, but it will come down to toughness and defense to interrupt the impressive Auburn winning streak. The Iron Bowl of basketball is always huge but Wednesday night's game means much more than just a single win or loss on the record book as it could propel Alabama to fulfill its potential as a team or serve as a reminder that the team hasn't been tough enough against quality competition and spiral them into mediocrity.

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