Nate Oats cites Nick Saban quote after seeing him courtside vs. Kentucky

With the 2022 football season now behind him, Alabama football coach Nick Saban took some time to support Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide basketball team on Saturday.

Saban was in attendance to watch Bama’s 78-52 blowout of Kentucky, which saw them improve to 13-2 and 3-0 in SEC play. In his postgame press conference, Oats made sure to recognize Saban for his support, evening borrowing a phrase from the beloved football coach to speak on his own team’s play.

“It was great to see coach Saban there in the front row,” Oats said. “He doesn’t make it out to too many. I think he has to take too many pictures and sign too many autographs when he comes out. So it was nice to see him out there.

“‘Make their butts quit’ I think is his saying. So we were trying to make ’em quit tonight. Trying to make him proud in the stands. I don’t think Kentucky necessarily quit, but I think our players tried to make ’em. The students did a good job. We don’t have quarters like football, but they did a pretty good job staying through the fourth quarter today. So I’m sure he was happy with that one, too.”

Alabama certainly did its job to stymie the Kentucky offense, holding the Wildcats to just 28.8% shooting in the win. The Crimson Tide jumped out to an 11-2 lead within the first four minutes and never looked back, shooting 48.1%. Forward Brandon Miller led the team with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds.

As Nate Oats mentioned, it’s not often that Alabama fans can find Nick Saban at a Crimson Tide basketball game. However, his attendance Saturday signifies that it’s time to start paying attention to hoops in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is currently one of the best teams in the country, ranked No. 7 with a serious hopes of a national championship after Saban and the football team failed to make the College Football Playoff.

Alabama is in the midst of a four-game winning streak and travels to face No. 13 Arkansas in another big-time matchup on Wednesday.