Nate Oats analyzes Alabama's struggles defensively

Even though Alabama lost to Kentucky by 22 points, the scoreline did not do the game justice. Nate Oats saw his team get blown out in Lexington thanks to a horrific defensive performance. Alabama gave up 117 points while Kentucky shot 63% from the field. While Saturday was not the only bad defensive outing this season for the Crimson Tide, it was certainly the worst.

Oats admitted he was embarrassed following the Kentucky game. He says the players are too, wanting to put a better product on the court. With how good the Alabama offense has been this season, slightly improving on defense could mean a serious run in the postseason.

While Ole Miss on Wednesday will be another test, Oats does not want his team to get motivated after a poor performance. Showing out defensively needs to occur every game.

“I think they were embarrassed. It’d be hard not to after giving up 117,” Oats said. “I’m embarrassed that a team I coached was that poor defensively. But it comes and goes with the ownership. You get embarrassed, you play really hard. I told them it’s gotta become who you are. It can’t be you get motivated after a bad outing. They’re motivated right now because they just gave up 117.”

KenPom ranked Alabama as the No. 7 team in the country, mainly thanks to their No. 1 rated Adj. Offense. The Adj. Defense just squeaks inside of the top 100 at No. 99.

For reference, Western Kentucky is the team above Alabama in the metric, while Stephen F. Austin is a slot below. Not the company Oats wants to be around this time of season.

Ole Miss itself will be looking to bounce back but on the offensive end. With Alabama coming to Oxford, a good crowd is expected, and Chris Beard will need to get a win. At some point, the Crimson Tide will need to make a few stops on the defensive end. Oats is ready to see how his team responds.

“We’ll see if we face a little adversity tomorrow how long the motivation lasts and can they make it become who they are rather than just short motivational ‘I’m gonna play hard because I got embarrassed the last play or the last game or the last four minutes.’ I do think enough of them care, but we’ll see if they care enough to make a lasting change,” Oats said.