Nate Oats analyzes Alabama, Noah Clowney following win over Missouri

Alabama sits at the top of the SEC, winning all seven conference games thus far. Missouri was the latest on Saturday night, with head coach Nate Oats getting his first-ever win in Columbia. A good feeling for him as the Crimson Tide continues to roll.

Oats said heading into the game, making sure the turnovers were limited was going to be key. Only 11 were committed, while Missouri had one less. The poor three-point shooting was pointed out by the head coach as well, with the two combining to make an abysmal 20.6%.

“I thought we did a good job taking care of the ball,” Oats said during a postgame interview with the SEC Network. “We knew we couldn’t turn it over and our guys did a good job not turning it over. I thought we missed a lot of open threes, so did they. We were fortunate they missed a lot of open threes.”

Since Dennis Gates took over for Missouri, they have been known to go on some lengthy runs. Alabama was able to keep the Tigers cold throughout the entire game, especially from behind the arc. There was only really one stretch where there was possible danger.

“I thought our guys didn’t give them many runs. Missouri is a team of runs. Tried to get on one there in the second half and I thought we did a good job stopping it before it could get any worse. Our guys have been tough and resilient this week.”

Nate Oats gives credit to Noah Clowney for performance

One of the best freshman duos in the country is Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney. The latter of the two was on full display against Missouri, finishing with 17 points and 14 rebounds. One of the youngster’s best games of the season.

“He was good,” Oats said. “Missouri plays a lot of guards, a lot of lineups that we can’t have Charles (Bediako) in the game. I thought Clowney was great. He was good on the ole glass. He had five (offensive) boards and ended up leading us in scoring.”

Clowney offers a ton of versatility for Alabama as well, especially when going up against a smaller lineup such as Missouri. You could tell Oats feels comfortable playing him anywhere on the court. Because most of the time, the results are positive.

“His switch ability on defense,” Oats began. “His activity on offense. The fact that he can stretch the floor. He didn’t hit a three tonight but he can make threes and finish at the rim, take you off the dribble. He’s so versatile. He lets us play him at four and five — both in games like this. We’ve got a really good stretch five out there.”