Nate Oats fine with opening NCAA Tournament on Friday to be at full strength

The Alabama men’s basketball team learned its NCAA Tournament draw on Sunday, and the No. 4-seed Crimson Tide will face 13-seed Charleston in the postseason’s first round.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats, of course, didn’t know much about the Cougars minutes after the selection show concluded, but he was happy to learn that his basketball team wouldn’t be taking the court in Spokane, Wash., for an actual game until Friday, March 22.

“I do like the fact we don’t have to play till Friday,” Oats said. “I think we get our legs up under us a little bit more. Obviously, we were trying to win the SEC Tournament, but it might have been a blessing in disguise for an NCAA Tournament run to get our legs a little more rested and not playing till Friday. 

“It gets us there even more because we haven’t had our full allotment of guys on no minute restrictions since that Texas A&M game when we were playing pretty good basketball. So I think this Friday will be the first time we’ve got everybody healthy, ready to go since that A&M game.”

All 12 of the Crimson Tide’s scholarship players were available to play in last weekend’s SEC Tournament quarterfinals against Florida, including guard Rylan Griffen, who made his return from a calf strain. But Griffen only played 19 minutes in the loss to the Gators, marking only the second game this season the sophomore didn’t play 21 or more minutes. 

Latrell Wrightsell was also in his second full game back from a concussion and was 0-4 from three in Nashville. Oats is hoping the time off in between the SEC and NCAA Tournaments will be beneficial for his squad, as Alabama (21-11) looks to bounce back after losing four of its last six – and will do so against a Charleston team that was won 12 straight.

“I told our guys, we’ve lost some games here in the last couple of weeks. We also haven’t been healthy,” Oats said. “This will be the first time we’ve got everybody available. We had everybody available last game, but it’s almost like you’re knocking the rust off a little bit with some of the guys that haven’t been in as much.”

Oats continued, “It’s a new season. A lot of teams are done. There’s not that many teams left playing meaningful games. We’re treating it like it’s a whole new season and we’re playing a really good team. I’ve been on the other side of this. I’ve been a 13-seed playing a four at Buffalo and came in and beat Arizona, so I’ve got a pretty good idea of the mindset of that group. 

“And they’re hungry. I’m sure they can’t wait to play us. They’re excited.”

The extended time off also gives Alabama a chance to continue to work on its defense, which sits at 112th nationally at 103.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, according to KenPom. The Cougars are 176th (106.1) but play a similar offensive style as the Crimson Tide, which can be a blessing or a curse. Regardless, Oats knows things need to improve.

“It’s a decision some guys are going to have to make, like how bad do I want to keep playing?” Oats said. “Because Charleston’s a really good offensive team. If we don’t come out and guard, Charleston is gonna put some points up on us. And I don’t like putting that much pressure on our offense every night out that we got to go score 100 points or whatever. 

“So I think we’ve shown the capability to be a quality defensive team enough. I mean, you go back and look at some of the better teams we played. We’re up nine against Purdue on a neutral site and then go up six against Arizona on a semi-road game, pretty much an away game. Up at Creighton in a road game. 

“… When we’ve been locked in and giving our best effort, we’ve been alright. Maybe not top three but not where we are. We’ve got to do it for two straight games, 40 minutes a game. We do it for two straight games at 40 minutes a game, we’ll be playing in LA the following weekend.”

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