Nate Oats doesn't think Alabama will overlook unranked South Carolina

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s basketball team enters a tough four-game stretch that will feature three ranked opponents and three games away from Coleman Coliseum.

The Crimson Tide (12-2, 1-0 SEC) will open the quartet of contests with a road game at South Carolina, which currently sits at the bottom of the SEC standings with a 10-4 (0-1) record.

After the trip to Columbia, South Carolina, Alabama will then face No. 10 Texas A&M (road), No. 23 Ole Miss (home) and No. 6 Kentucky (road) over the next two weeks. That’s a difficult three games, but the Tide can’t overlook a Gamecock team not among the top 25.

So far in practice, Alabama head coach Nate Oats hasn’t seen a lack of focus from his team.

“Our guys have been pretty mature,” Oats said. “I thought we had a great practice yesterday. We were off Sunday, so we got after it pretty good yesterday. We just got out of practice today. It was a lot shorter, but I thought it was pretty crisp. I thought they got after it pretty good today, we just didn’t go that long. I feel like they’re locked into what we need to do.

“I think we’ve got enough veteran guys that understand the meaning of these games.”

Oats and Alabama’s attention appears to be squarely on South Carolina, which is coming off an 85-50 loss to Mississippi State but had won seven straight before that, including an overtime win over then-No. 25 Clemson on December 17. That victory sticks out to Oats.

So does the Gamecocks’ 15-win turnaround last year, which was the best single-season switch in program history, surpassing the 11-win improvement from 2002-03 to 2003-04. Oats was also quick to point out the Crimson Tide’s struggles in Columbia. While Alabama holds a 35-16 edge in the all-time series history, UA is 13-8 in games at South Carolina.

“I don’t think we’ll overlook South Carolina knowing how good they were last year,” Oats said. “Clemson, we split with Clemson last year. We’re 1-2 against Clemson since I’ve been here. So for them to beat Clemson, Clemson’s already beat Kentucky this year. 

“We know they’re a good team. Our guys know they’re a good team. Occasionally good teams have bad games, and I think that’s what happened Saturday.”

Collin Murray-Boyles is the Gamecocks’ leading scorer (15.8 ppg) and rebounder (9.4 rpg) and is shooting 61.8 percent from the field, which leads the SEC and ranks No. 18 in the country. South Carolina is 11-1 under Lamont Paris when shooting 50 percent or better, including a 3-0 record this season, and is 4-0 in the four games it has made 10 or more threes. In all 10 of their wins so far, the Gamecocks have out-rebounded their opponents.

USC may be at the bottom of the SEC, but Oats expects a title-worthy fight on Wednesday, Jan. 8, at Colonial Life Arena (6 p.m. CT on SEC Network). And UA will be ready for it.

“If we’re gonna try to win a championship like we talked about before SEC play started, these are games you’ve gotta come ready to play and find a way to get a win,” Oats said. “But it hasn’t been an easy place for us to play. Two years ago when we were the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, we barely snuck out of there with a win in overtime. 

“This is a team that has beaten Clemson at home. They’ve been a little bit up and down. Obviously, they didn’t play well against Mississippi State – we all saw that score. But I think we should expect a team more like what played Clemson than what played Mississippi State. Coming off that loss, I’m sure Coach Paris will have them ready to go.”

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