Nate Oats on Tennessee: We're supposed to lose this game

Nate Oats isn’t happy with Vegas about his team’s odds against Tennessee. With tip-off coming in just moments, the Alabama head coach made sure everyone was aware of his stance in the hopes of motivating his squad before the game.

“We’re supposed to lose this game,” Nate Oats said during a pre-game interview. “Hopefully we play with that chip on our shoulder.”

The No. 1 Crimson Tide are three-point underdogs to No. 10 Tennessee in Knoxville, per Caesars Sportsbook.

Catch the game live on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.

Nate Oats reveals injured center Charles Bediako ‘leaning towards a go’ vs. Tennessee

Alabama starting center Charles Bediako is looking like he will play Wednesday against Tennessee, national college basketball insider Jon Rothstein has reported.

Head basketball coach Nate Oats told him that Bediako is “leaning towards a go.” He injured his knee over the weekend in the Crimson Tide’s win over Auburn.

The victory moved Alabama to 12-0 in conference play.

Bediako is averaging 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on the season for the Crimson Tide, starting every game for the nation’s No. 1 team.

As a freshman last season, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team after averaging 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in 33 games, 30 of them he started.

When speaking to the media Tuesday ahead of the Tennessee game, Nate Oats revealed Charles Bediako’s injury to not be something that should keep him out for the long term.

“He did have a minor knee injury during the Auburn game and played through it,” Oats said. “It’s day-to-day. He’s gotten better every day since the Auburn game, so we’ll see where he’s at tomorrow.”

The best game of Bediako’s season so far came in January against Kentucky and reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe.

Tshiebwe finished the game with only four points and six rebounds as the Crimson Tide won 72-58.

“Well, his length caused Tshiebwe some problems,” Nate Oats said at the time. “You know, Tshiebwe is tough, physical, but he’s not nearly as tall as Charles is. So, you know, Charles was able to fight his catching off, push out. When he did get it, Charles was smart, moved his feet, blocked some shots.”

“So, I thought part of guarding Tshiebwe too was we decided to attack him early in ball screens. I don’t think he’s very good guarding ball screens. We got behind him, I think, three times right out of the gate. You know, Jaden Bradley did a great job finding Charles and they were upset. You know, we’ve seen him miss a lot of ball screen coverages in scouting them.”