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Nate Oats says Alabama effort wasn’t good enough vs. Robert Morris
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Nate Oats wasn’t satisfied with Alabama’s performance in a 90-81 win over 15-seed Robert Morris on Friday.
Specifically, the Alabama head coach was disappointed in his team’s effort. Alabama trailed midway through the second half. It was outrebounded 39-37 and gave up 50 paint points. Robert Morris forward Amar Dickerson had more offensive rebounds on his own (6) than Alabama had as a team (5).
“A little disappointed in our defensive rebounding, but our guys were resilient,” Oats told reporters after the game.
Alabama’s leaders — Mark Sears and Grant Nelson — brought some urgency late in the game to help Alabama keep Robert Morris at arm’s length, but Oats is searching for a more consistent performance heading into the second round.
“Disappointed with the effort at times,” Oats said. “Proud of the guys for the effort to close them out late. I don’t want to say we overlooked [Robert Morris], but it certainly looks like it with the effort at times in the game.”
Alabama closed as a 22.5-point favorite.
The Tide will face either 7-seed Saint Mary’s or 10-seed Vanderbilt on Sunday in the Round of 32. Oats is 3-0 in the second round during his Alabama tenure, and the Tide are hoping that trend continues. After challenging for the regular-season SEC title, a deep run is the expectation in Tuscaloosa this spring.
Alabama’s March Madness debut left plenty of room for growth.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
