Nate Oats weighs why Alabama was unable to complete comeback runs vs. Auburn

No. 2 Alabama fell to No. 1 Auburn 94-85 at home on Saturday afternoon in a matchup that saw the Tigers lead for the entirety of the game.

The Crimson Tide cut it close in the second half on numerous occasions, only to be met with an answer from Auburn at the other end. At the end of the game, Alabama shot just 2 of 13 from the floor against the Tigers while they were trailing by three points or more. That included 1 of 5 from the 3-point line.

“I don’t have an answer to why that may have happened. Maybe you give some credit to Auburn. It was a tight game,” Oats said during his postgame press conference. “They were playing hard and forced some tough shots. They’re a good defensive team. They put together a good game plan. If there’s a tight game, we have to do a better job finding better shots if the game’s tight. There’s human nature and a tendency to loosen up. So maybe when they were up 14, maybe they gave up some better shots to us. I don’t know. I don’t have a great answer to that.

“A good stat. As I’m watching the game and breaking it down, I’ll be looking at why we went (2 of 13) when the game was tight. I don’t have a great answer to that one right now.”

Alabama struggled to shoot the 3 all game long, finishing the matchup with five-made deep balls in 26 attempts. The Crimson Tide’s leading scorer, Mark Sears, managed to score 18 points but shot 2 of 11 from deep at 4 of 17 overall.

Grant Nelson came away with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double in 30 minutes as well. Not to mention both Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway scored 10 points off the bench.

One positive takeaway for the Crimson Tide is that this loss likely doesn’t hurt them in the long run, especially if they can win out for the rest of the regular season. Obviously in the SEC this year, that’s easier said than done.

“We’ve got six tough games, and we got to be ready for every last one. We talk a lot about adversity. Sometimes it makes you better,” Oats concluded. “There’s a book by Ryan Holiday called ‘The Obstacles.’ The way we were as a staff before, no teams are any good that don’t face a little adversity. Like every goal that we’ve got left remaining is still in our control, and that’s got to be the mindset.”

The Crimson Tide will only face ranked opponents from here on out until the end of the regular season, including a rematch against Auburn on March 8. Next up for Alabama is a road trip to No. 21 Missouri on Wednesday night. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET live on the SEC Network.