What Alabama coach Nate Oats said after beating South Carolina on Wednesday
Following an 88-68 win over South Carolina on Wednesday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats spoke to the media after the game. Below is a summary of what he had to say.
— Good to win the first road game of the year in SEC play. Thought the guys answered the bell.
— Mark Sears looked like a player of the year candidate to start the game. South Carolina did a good job taking him out of it in the second half.
— Thought the intensity picked up as well as the defense to maintain the lead. Did a good job of keeping South Carolina at bay.
— A lot of people have Collin Murray-Boyles going in the first round of the NBA Draft. Held him to only six points. Was happy with his defense’s efforts in guarding him, especially from Mouhamed Dioubate.
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— Dioubate is a tough kid. Wasn’t happy with the flagrant foul he picked up last time out. But he had a great practice coming in. Got his head right again and got him ready to go tonight. Thought he was a good matchup for Murray-Boyles. He couldn’t really move Dioubate at all.
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— They’ve had awful starts to the second half, particularly when they’ve had a lead. It’s like they get too comfortbale. That’s not how they do things around ehre. They are supposed to compete all the time, regardless of the score. Had enough of it and decided to sub to start after halftime. After he called an early timeout, things got straightened out after that.
— They spread people out. They only ended up with 19 three-pointers, which isn’t as many as they would like. People are cognizant of the fact that they like to shoot. They’ve got strong, tough physical drivers. They don’t settle for a whole lot of “non-rim” two-pointers. Would’ve been better if they made more free throws. Everything else was good enough to win tonight. But they could be better.
[USC-Auburn MBB: Win two tickets]
— Not sure what it was with the free throws. Thought they driving it to the rim well. Sears only shot five free throws in this game. Maybe a few guys got less aggressive. But felt they were able to get downhill. Didn’t think the officiating was that bad in this game. Alabama went 10-for-20 at the line.
— They’ve got some guys with personal pride in their defense this year. When the other team has a big, Clifford Omoruyi had to a figure out a system but he’s done alright. Murray-Boyles has played very well in this league, but Dioubate has a lot of pride in his defense. They’ve played some of the best players in the country this year. Guys on his team want the assignment and do it pretty well.
