Where Nate Oats sees room for improvement as Alabama opens SEC play
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama men’s basketball team will play in its first conference game of the 2024-25 season on Saturday, a top-15 matchup with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Alabama, ranked No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, enters league play with an 11-2 record. The Crimson Tide successfully navigated a gauntlet of a non-conference slate, but head coach Nate Oats still sees plenty to work on as Alabama gets set for the meat of its schedule.
For Oats, that starts on the defensive end.
“Obviously, the biggest room for improvement is on the defensive side of the ball,” Oats said on Friday. “Our defense isn’t where it needs to be. I think guys taking some individual pride in just their defense and keeping guys out of the lane. I think our rim protection could stand to get a little bit better still. We need Cliff and Grant and Aiden to do a better job there.”
Alabama leads the SEC in scoring offense (89.92 points per game) but is last in scoring defense (77.23). The Crimson Tide is 46th nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, at 98.3 points allowed per 100 possessions. In seven of its 13 non-league games, Alabama gave up 80 or more points, including both of its losses to Purdue and Oregon.
Although the Tide is putting up a lot of points, it hasn’t been making threes at its usual clip. The last time out saw Alabama make a season-high 19 triples, the Crimson Tide is ranked last in the SEC in 3-point field goal percentage (31.6, 135-of-427) with the most attempts. UA is 13th in the country in 3-pointers shot but 277th in 3-point percentage (out of 355).
Top 10
- 1Breaking
Agiye Hall commits
Former 5-star surprise commitment
- 2New
Urban Meyer
Declaring SEC dominance over
- 3Hot
AP Poll projection
Judgement Saturday brings change
- 4
Squirrel White
Former Vols WR ACC bound
- 5
Zachariah, Zion Branch
USC playmakers SEC bound
Get the On3 Top 10 to your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
“Our 3-point percentage is the biggest thing that jumps out. We’ve gotta find better threes. We’ve gotta the right guys taking more of the threes.”
The final two areas Oats mentioned before Alabama opens conference play against Oklahoma on Saturday, January 4, are turnovers and offensive rebounds. The Tide is one of just two SEC teams with a negative turnover margin after 13 non-conference and ranks last in the league at -1.85. Those are areas of emphasis ahead of the first SEC game of the year.
“Our turnover rate came back down last game, but it had been an issue up until that,” Oats said.
“So we’ve gotta take care of the ball, get better threes from the correct shooters and then when we miss them, we’ve gotta do a good job on the O boards. We can still win games when we don’t shoot it great from three by getting on the offensive glass.
“We’ve gotta continue to emphasize that.”
The Alabama-Oklahoma game at Coleman Coliseum will tip off at 5 p.m. CT (SEC Network).
Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!
Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!
