Nate Oats responds to question asking if Alabama is the best team in America
The Alabama Crimson Tide are getting ready for what might be the biggest game of the college basketball regular season on Saturday when they’ll take on the Auburn Tigers. It’s a game that head coach Nate Oats knows will likely determine who the best team in the country is this season.
“We’ll see Saturday who’s the best team in the country, I guess,” Nate Oats said.
Going into the game, Alabama is ranked second in the AP Top 25 poll while Auburn is first. Both teams sit at 10-1 in SEC play and at the top of the conference standings, meaning the winner will have the inside track on winning the conference in the regular season.
Oats and Alabama are coming off a win over the Texas Longhorns where they scored 103 points. Still, with 17 turnovers and 14 offensive rebounds surrendered, there is plenty of room to improve.
“I think we’ve got a mature group. I know they’ve prepared. We can get into it. The hay’s in the barn, if you will, going into these games. We know what we have to do. We don’t get upset when the other team hits some tough shots that we’re willing to give up. Now, the turnovers, that was a little upsetting, some of the rebounds we gave up was a little upsetting,” Oats said. “But we try to be intense, very intense. Play hard, give max effort, but we’re not trying to flip out over. Like, we come prepared, we know what we’ve got to do, we get it done, we execute the gameplan, and we get out of here with a win.”
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Going into the game on Saturday, Alabama and Auburn are both listed as one-seeds in the latest bracketology. In Auburn’s case, the Tigers are currently listed as the number one overall seed in the country.
“Do we think we’re the best team in the country? I think we’ve got a chance to be, but Auburn’s best team in the country right now,” Oats said. “We gotta knock them out on Saturday if we want to claim to be the best team in the country.”
Even with a win over Auburn, it won’t be an easy road ahead of Alabama. The Crimson Tide have seven games remaining in the regular season with every opponent being currently ranked in the AP Top 25. That includes third-ranked Florida and a second game against Auburn.