Nate Oats reveals Nick Saban spoke to Alabama basketball team on Friday

Ahead of their game Saturday against Texas A&M, the first-place Alabama men’s hoops team got a pep talk from a guy who knows a thing or two about winning the SEC.

Saturday morning, Mike Rodak tweeted out that Nate Oats said on the pregame show that Nick Saban had stopped by to speak with the team prior to the game. In a second tweet, he added this quote from Oats:

“We had Coach Saban talk to our team yesterday. Always go back to his process. Like, honestly, the more you talk about championships, the less you’re focused on what you should be doing today.

“So they know where we’re at (in the SEC). I briefly mentioned where we’re at, but I spent the majority of the conversation on focus areas on what we have to do today to get us better than we were yesterday. I think all that other stuff, the championships and all that, takes care of itself if you do that.”

That’s some Saban-inspired wisdom right there from the Crimson Tide basketball coach.

Odds for Texas A&M vs. Alabama

Coming into the game, Alabama is an 8.5-point favorite over Texas A&M, per FanDuel Sportsbook. The Crimson Tide are currently listed at -350 for the moneyline as of Saturday morning, while the Aggies are sitting at +275.

The point total for the game is set at 160.5 points. Alabama comes into the game averaging 80.0 points per game — No. 1 in the SEC and No. 3 in the country. Meanwhile, Texas A&M averages 74.2 points, 11th best in the conference.

KenPom Predicted final score: Alabama 85, Texas A&M 75
KenPom Win probability (for Alabama): 82 percent

KenPom is another predictive system for college basketball. It’s designed to show how strong a team is at a given time, without taking factors like injuries into account. For Saturday’s game between Alabama and Texas A&M, KenPom agrees with BPI and Vegas’ consensus, projecting the Aggies to lose by roughly 8-13 points.

How to watch Texas A&M vs. Alabama

Time: Noon ET
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Coleman Coliseum — Tuscaloosa, Alabama

The opening tip between the Crimson Tide and Aggies is scheduled for Noon ET and will air live on ESPN. It’s also going to be available to fans on streaming through FuboTV, which has an option for a free trial.