Nate Oats aiming for redemption in 'basketball Rose Bowl' after 'embarrassing' loss to Clemson in regular season

Nate Oats is familiar with just how dangerous this Clemson team can be.

Earlier this season, the Crimson Tide lost to Clemson 85-77 in November at Coleman Coliseum. Now, they’ll meet again in Los Angeles with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

Oats labeled the rematch as the “basketball Rose Bowl” at Friday’s presser in reference to each school’s reputation as a football powerhouse.

“Most people would think we’re out here playing in the Rose Bowl,” Oats said. “The basketball Rose Bowl.”

As far as any sort of motivator for his team, Oats didn’t shy away from the revenge game aspect either. He noted how it’s certainly impacting how the players are approaching tipoff.

“We’ll use whatever we can at this point, whatever we think resonates with our players. But I think as a competitor if you’ve got some pride, you got embarrassed on your home court earlier in the year,” Oats said. “And you’ve got a chance to redeem it on a neutral floor. I think that would be a little extra motivation for you right there.”

Oats knows that Clemson will definitely have some extra drive in search of its first Final Four — something Alabama is also looking to achieve.

“But Clemson’s also trying to make their first Final Four. I think they’ll be extra motivated,” Oats said. “You can’t just rely on being motivated because the other team is going to be motivated too. We have to be locked in a scouting report, focused, detail oriented — things we’ve been good here at the tournament maybe we lacked during the course of the year at different times.”

Oats didn’t downplay the potential impact of a win — and a Final Four appearance — for Alabama’s program.

“So this would be the biggest win in the history of Alabama basketball if we can pull it off. And I think our players understand the enormity of the game,” Oats added. “And I think their preparation, their effort will match their understanding of how important this game is.”

Tipoff will be at 8:49 p.m. ET on Saturday via TBS. The Crimson Tide are favored by 2.5 points per the latest line from Bet365. Fans who want to bet on the game can do so by signing up with Bet365 or another one of the best sportsbook apps on the market.

The team may be without Nick Pringle and Latrell Wrightsell due to injury, however. Wrightsell was a big part of Oats’ 3-point shooting, hitting 44.3% of his shots from deep. Pringle’s height will be missed against Clemson if he doesn’t play.