What Nate Oats is 'still trying to figure out' prior to Auburn game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama has already faced four top-10 teams this season and is 0-4 in those matchups. The Crimson Tide (12-6, 4-1 SEC) will look to improve its luck Wednesday when the No. 8-ranked Auburn Tigers travel to Coleman Coliseum for a rivalry game.

Coming off a 20-point loss at Tennessee on Saturday, the Tide will look to bounce back on its home floor, but head coach Nate Oats is still looking for his team to show him something.

“I’m still trying to figure out – are we a competitive group that does what it takes to win, or do we just got a lot of really talented players that fold when they’re in the middle of tough games against good teams? Because I’m not sure yet,” Oats said. “I hope we’ve got some competitive guys. I thought today’s practice looked a little bit more like what it’s supposed to look like. 

“We’ll see when the ball goes up tomorrow, though.”

With six losses, Alabama isn’t ranked in either national poll entering the first of two Iron Bowls of Basketball this year, but the Tide is still among the top 10 nationally in the NCAA’s NET rankings (currently No. 9). Auburn (16-2, 5-0) is featured in both, however, with a NET ranking of No. 7 and checking in at No. 6 and No. 8 in the Coaches and AP polls, respectively.

The Tigers are one of the hottest teams in the country, having won 11 games in a row, which is the third-longest winning streak in Division I. Meanwhile, the Tide has won 11 straight games at home against SEC competition, which is the program’s longest run since 2012.

“Record-wise, they’re significantly better than we are,” Oats said. “We’re 12-6 and they don’t have many losses. If you look at the metrics – and I’ve told our guys this – ‘OK, that’s great. We’ve blown out some bad teams by a lot. Our efficiency metrics look good. In the games that matter, we’re not coming up with enough wins.’ They’ve come up with a lot more wins.

“We’ll see tomorrow. … I think our guys need to compete more, they need to play together more, they need to take care of the ball more. Like, we’ve got to figure out how to win tough, close games. I do think the talent level is a lot closer than what the record would say, but talent is not everything. You can be really talented and not a competitor.”

Last year, Alabama also lost in Knoxville, but the Crimson Tide responded by clobbering Georgia, 108-59, the next time out. The team also had a nice bounce-back performance against Vanderbilt, 101-44, after losing at Oklahoma earlier in the Tide’s 2022-23 season.

This isn’t last year’s team, but coming off a road loss at Tennessee on Saturday, UA would like to see history repeated with a much-needed win. In order to do that, however, the players will need to respond to the loss, something Oats assessed after Tuesday’s practice.

“I thought some of them responded appropriately Monday. I thought a lot more of them responded appropriately today,” Oats said. “We made that point. 

“… We responded to those losses pretty well last year. Now, Auburn is not Vanderbilt and Georgia of last year. They’re the best team in our league right now. So I told our guys it’s going to take an effort like we played with against Vanderbilt and Georgia after losses last year just to get a win, period. We’re not going to blow these guys out like we did. But we did respond well last year. 

“I think some of these guys understand what it takes to compete in this league, and some guys are still trying to figure it out.”

The Alabama-Auburn matchup will take place Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN).

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