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Nate Oats says Alabama can win a national championship if it fixes one key area
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Nate Oats and No. 2 Alabama are set to host No. 1 Auburn on Saturday in what will unquestionably be the biggest Iron Bowl of Basketball in the respective history of the two programs. The Crimson Tide enter the contest having won their last 7, while the Tigers bounced back from a. Feb. 8 loss to Florida with a win at Vanderbilt on Tuesday.
Both will be projected No. 1 seeds when the selection committee releases its initial top 16 on Saturday, with the Tide’s eyes set on a national championship — the first in program history — after a historic Final Four run in 2024. But Oats believes there’s one thing right now that’s keeping them from doing that.
“Stop turning the ball over,” Alabama’s head coach said on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday. “We’ve got too many turnovers. We’ve gotta stop turning the ball over, and we’ve gotta rebound it a little bit better. And then if our defense can get a little bit better. It’s been great at times. It hasn’t been great for a full 40 minutes yet. If we can get some defensive consistency over 40 minutes and stop turning the ball over and then rebound it a little bit better, we’ve got a chance to win it all.”
Indeed, the Tide, whose 13.4 turnovers per game is second-worst in the SEC, coughed the ball up 17 times in a 103-80 win over Texas on Tuesday. On Feb. 1, they beat Georgia 90-69 despite turning it over 20 times.
Per KenPom, Alabama’s 17.7% turnover rate ranks 206th in the nation. The Tide are an excellent offensive rebounding team and have one of the most efficient offenses in the country in terms of shot-making.
We’ll see if Alabama can find a fix for what’s been an area of concern for Oats as the NCAA Tournament is just over a month away. At BetMGM, the Tide are +900 to win the title, with only 3 teams — Auburn, Duke, and Houston — holding shorter odds.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
