Nate Oats explains why winning SEC regular season title would be a little sweeter at home

When Alabama clinched the 2020-2021 SEC regular season championship, they did so on the road in Starkville. Add in COVID-19 affecting the crowd and there was not too much juice in the celebration on the court. The stakes are certainly different for head coach Nate Oats heading into Wednesday’s game.

Auburn will be in Tuscaloosa for the latest edition of the Iron Bowl of Basketball. Earning a conference championship at home in front of a packed arena would be special enough. Doing so against the Tigers would be an incredible moment for Oats and the entire program.

“It would be a lot sweeter than it was at Mississippi State,” Oats said. “It was great two years ago but they last home game of the season in front of a ruckus crowd. I mean, it’s Auburn. It would be much better to do it… We plan on having this place sold out. It’s been sold out for a long time. So, it will be a lot better than on the road at Mississippi State.”

Of course, Alabama cannot just assume they are going to win. They have not played their best over the past two games and Auburn is in desperate need of getting back on track before postseason play. Any kind of entitlement will easily lead to a loss.

Even so, Oats admitted they have discussed the SEC championship slightly. All focus is on Auburn and stopping their talented roster but they are human. You cannot be thinking about the possibilities.

“We’re not assuming it’s going to happen,” Oats said. “We’ve got to take care of business… The more our players start thinking about that stuff, the less they’re focused on the game. I think we’ve been pretty good at focusing on the game.

“So, we’ve discussed it a tad, didn’t get into it too much. More discussed what we have to do to win the game… Once we take care of that, if we’re fortunate to do so, we’ll worry about how nice it is to win it at home.”

SEC regular season championship brings memories for Nate Oats

When asked about the first outright SEC championship, some memories were unlocked for Oats. A road win meant the party really got started back in Tuscaloosa, with the fans welcoming the team back home.

“That does bring up some special memories,” Oats said. “We pulled in. I got a great picture with Fluff that night. He kind of rounded everybody up to make sure they greeted us coming in. So, there’s some special memories from back then.”

The person Oats is referring to, Fluff, is a former Alabama student who was a super fan of the basketball program. He followed the Crimson Tide everywhere they went during the 2020-2021 season before tragically passing away before the NCAA Tournament.

Everyone will be hoping new memories are created on Wednesday night. A loss would not be the end of the world either, having at least a split. However, the atmosphere in Tuscaloosa has the potential to be something special against Auburn.