Nate Oats after UNC win: 'We're peaking in March'

Alabama is playing its best basketball of the season at the right time as the Crimson Tide find themselves one victory away from the first Final Four in program history.

Head coach Nate Oats addressed his team’s success down the stretch this season, attributing this to leadership and camaraderie. It starts with Oats and his coaching staff, and his winning mindset trickles down to the starting lineup all the way to the bench.

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“We kept challenging them. We’ve got to get more competitive in practice,” Oats said postgame. “Challenge, like, just put it there. And I’ll say what, leadership on the team, like [Nick] Pringle, has been great all week. The last three games, Pringle’s leadership. And tonight, he’s been battling the foot injury all year. It was really flaring up. He just wasn’t himself. But, shoot, I’m looking, we were like 28 points per 100 possessions better on defense with him in the game than when he wasn’t.

“So you can say a lot about the leadership of guys trying to get us to compete. Mark Sears has competed as hard as he’s ever competed since he’s been at Alabama these last three games. When the season’s on the line, we’ve been challenging these guys all year. They’ve stepped up.”

The Tide have been hot all tournament. While they came up short in the SEC Tournament, Oats’ squad has put up two double-digit wins and have downed one of the tournament’s top four seeds.

Against North Carolina in the Sweet 16, four of the Crimson Tide’s starters scored 18 points or more. Rylan Griffen made five 3-pointers during the contest while Grant Nelson led the way with a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double.

“I’ve got to give these guys a lot of credit. Aaron Estrada, the next time we lose that’s the last game he plays. He came out playing great,” Oats continued. “We [can] just go down the line.

“Jarin Stevenson didn’t score well but led the team in plus/minus. The kid from Chapel Hill, special game for him. He should still be in high school. Just go down the list, we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for [Mouhamed] Dioubate. They’re bringing their competitive side out at the right time. You want to peaking in March; we’re peaking in March.”

The opening tip-off between the Crimson Tide and Tigers is scheduled for Saturday night at 8:49 p.m. ET and will air live on TBS. Alabama is a 3.5-point betting favorite, per FanDuel Sportsbook, as they look to find themselves in the Final Four for the first time ever.