Nate Oats ‘pulling for Kentucky’ in remaining games, shuts down NIT talk

Nate Oats and Alabama gave Kentucky a whooping they’ve seen only a handful of times since John Calipari has taken over as head coach. Defeating the Wildcats 78-52 in Tuscaloosa, the fans at Coleman Coliseum were rightfully rowdy in the final minutes.

The fans trolled the ‘Cats, chanting “NIT” and “Cal to Texas” about the recent job opening on the Forty Acres. Oats shut down the negative chants toward Kentucky, showing respect to their fellow SEC foe.

“Kentucky’s not gonna go to the NIT. They’re gonna be an NCAA Tournament team. It’s college students being college students. They’ve got plenty of talent over there,” Oats said postgame. “Cal’s done a good job assembling some talent. They’ve got really good players. They just didn’t shoot the ball well tonight. They shot 29 percent, and when you shoot 29 percent, it’s hard to win games.”

The ‘Cats got off to a poor start, trailing 13-4. They battles back and cut it to a one-point game, but the rolling Crimson Tide hit their stride before the half and exploded back out to an 11-point lead. They quickly mounted that score to 20, then 30 until eventually finishing the game with the 26-point loss.

Kentucky’s 52 points are the third lowest of the John Calipari era. UK seems to be on a swift trajectory downhill, but Nate Oats was still advocating for his opposition even after dismantling the wounded Blue Blood.

“Kentucky’s gonna be alright. They had a bad shooting night. They didn’t shoot it well,” Oats said. “Our guys did a good job defensively on them. But now, I’m pulling for Kentucky to go get a bunch of wins at this point.”

The Wildcats will look to bounce back from the ‘Bama loss this Tuesday against South Carolina. The Gamecocks seek their first SEC win of the season and would love to do so against Kentucky inside Rupp Arena.