Nate Oats reaffirms commitment to play tough non-conference schedule at Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. − Alabama held off Memphis on Tuesday night for a 91-88 win which marked a fourth straight victory since dropping its only game of the season against UConn in November. Since the beginning of the Phil Knight Invitational, the Crimson Tide have played four ranked opponents, a Memphis team which received the most votes outside the Top 25 this week, and still has No. 15 Gonzaga on the schedule for Saturday.

Since his first days in Tuscaloosa, head coach Nate Oats and his staff have made a commitment to building the toughest non-conference schedule possible in order to test the team before SEC play. This season, it is paying off big time.

“We didn’t put too many cupcakes on the schedule for a reason,” said Oats. “And our guys are answering the bell. The schedule we’ve had, to be 9-1 right now, it says a lot about the group of kids we’ve got.”

Oats went on to explain that the tough schedule Alabama plays provides an opportunity for the players and staff alike to learn from every opportunity. From end-of-game scenarios against North Carolina to the importance of inbounding and ball security against Memphis, or even the need to be a little tougher against UConn and avoid giving up runs. In the end, it is all about playing the best basketball in March.

“I think when you play tough teams, you learn your strengths and weaknesses a lot quicker and you can start to fix your weaknesses a lot quicker,” said Oats. “Well if you’re scheduling scared and just want to schedule a bunch of wins, you’re not going to put those games on the schedule. Can’t win them if you don’t play them. We’re going to play them.”

Balancing the non-conference schedule

While Alabama has played the toughest schedule so far of any team in the Top 10 at KenPom this season, ranking No. 17 overall, that does not mean that scheduling a few easier games along the way is completely useless.

Oats never wants to fill his schedule with those “cupcakes” and “wins,” but understands the importance of them at different points in the season.

“You’ve got to get some confidence too, I don’t think it would be smart to schedule all 13 non-conference games like Memphis, Gonzaga, Houston,” said Oats. “You have some games where guys can build some confidence, and we’ve got a few of those on the schedule. But I don’t think it’s smart to schedule 10 or 11 of those. I think you’ve got to play some tough teams.

Oats closed his press conference by assuring the media that next year’s schedule will be just as tough as this year’s, once again reaffirming the commitment to play the best teams every year.