Nate Oats channels Nick Saban to react to Alabama being No. 1 in AP Men's Basketball Poll
Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team are up to No. 1 in this week’s AP Poll.
Alabama went into Auburn on Saturday and left with an 8-point win over its biggest rival. That improved the Crimson Tide to a perfect 12-0 thus far in SEC play.
On Monday, during an appearance on The Next Round, Oats cited Alabama football coach Nick Saban, saying the No. 1 ranking doesn’t mean much right now and calling it “rat poison” (via AL.com):
“It’s nice to be 1,″ Oats said. “It really doesn’t mean anything, though. It doesn’t help you win an SEC championship. It’s recognition, that’s it. Coach Saban says it’s rat poison. We’ve got to keep our guys locked in.”
Alabama has a huge game at No. 10 Tennessee on Wednesday night. If the Tide win that, an undefeated SEC run could be in order.
The Crimson Tide currently have a stranglehold on the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament bracket. We’ll see if they can finish off a perfect conference run moving forward.