Nate Oats explains where Alabama was 'exposed' against Memphis

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — No. 2 Alabama got a win in its final preseason exhibition on Monday night, beating Memphis 96-88. Though the Crimson Tide nearly scored 100 points again, the game was anything but pretty.

“There’s a reason we play the exhibitions – so that we can get exposed a little bit on what we got to work on,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. “We definitely got exposed tonight a little bit. I thought our turnovers were not where we need them to be, and we got to do a better job taking care of the ball. Our defensive rebounding, our transition defense, they exposed in a bad way.”

Turnovers were a thorn in Alabama’s side throughout the game.

The Crimson Tide totaled 20 giveaways on the night, including six from star point guard Mark Sears alone. Memphis is an incredibly athletic team that plays with a ton of physicality, and it made Alabama uncomfortable all night. The Tigers often pressured ball handlers the full length of the floor, and were extremely physical on the ball in the halfcourt, continually keeping Alabama from getting into a consistent rhythm offensively.

Memphis also had a huge day on the offensive glass, grabbing 23 offensive rebounds to Alabama’s 11. The Tigers won the overall rebounding battle 51-42. While fixing that issue will be aided by the returns of Grant Nelson and Aiden Sherrell in the frontcourt, both of whom missed the exhibition game, it’s still a glaring area of concern from the game’s box score.

Alabama’s schedule, however, features a number of physical teams like Memphis in both non-conference and SEC play. Oats believes games like this are beneficial for preparing for those teams later on down the road.

“I think it was really good to play a team like that because we’re gonna have to play Houston yet, we play Tennessee yet,” Oats said. “I didn’t think we did a very good job handling the physicality most of the games, to be honest with you. That’s why we ended up with 20 turnovers. So we’re gonna be a lot better before we play some of these more aggressive, physical teams that are coming up.”

Oats was also displeased with Alabama’s defensive effort, specifically in the second half. The Crimson Tide entered halftime with a 49-29 lead after a very solid defensive performance over the first 20 minutes, but entirely lacked the same energy and fire on that end of the floor coming out of the locker room for the second half.

“I think we gave up 16 points the first three minutes of the second half. I didn’t think our mentality was right coming out of the half, which was a little disappointing, a little immature,” Oats said. “Up 20 at the half, come out, think it’s gonna be easy. Next thing you know, you give up 16 points the first three minutes of the half. I thought we got driven too much, gave up offensive rebounds. The first possession of the second half, we gave up an O board. Gave up another one at the free-throw line. Fouled too much. Our mentality wasn’t good to start the second half and it kind of continued the entire second half.”

Despite the major flaws in Alabama’s performance, the Crimson Tide still came away with a win, a huge testament to the talent on this team and the depth it will have once injured players are able to return.

Alabama has now gone 2-0 in preseason exhibitions, with the season less than a week away. The season begins Nov. 4, as Alabama takes on UNC Asheville in Coleman Coliseum.