Alabama
Nate Oats looking for Alabama's practice habits to translate against LSU
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nate Oats was not pleased about Alabama’s defensive output in the second half of its 103-87 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday. After the game, guard Mark Sears said the team was given a maturity test one week after it suffered its first defeat in Southeastern Conference play to Ole Miss.
Oats assessed the Tide a C- on that test against Vanderbilt after the Tide put in a strong performance defensively in the first half, but floundered in the second. Alabama allowed the Commodores to hit 11 of 17 3-pointers and average 1.3 points per possession in the second half after averaging just 0.86 in the opening 20 minutes.
Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) has scored over 100 points in its last two games since losing to Ole Miss. The offense has clicked on all cylinders, which is a good sign for the Tide going forward as it now sits alone in second place in the SEC standings.
The Tide faces LSU on Saturday. The Tigers (12-6, 1-4) don’t look as formidable on paper, coming in with the No. 102 offense according to KenPom.com. But the Ole Miss loss is keeping Oats honed in on preventing the Tide from underestimating an SEC opponent.
“We’ve done the deal where we’ve overlooked a team a little bit,” Oats told reporters Friday. “Now, Ole Miss – I have no idea why we overlooked them. They were undefeated at the time we played them, but I think we did. So, we’re gonna have to see how mature we are to see what kind of effort we bring for the entire 40 minutes tomorrow and that’s what I’m most curious to see.”
In Oats’ eyes, Alabama can’t play hard for 40 minutes if it doesn’t practice with the same kind of intensity in the days leading up to the game. That’s why practice ran long Monday ahead of the Vanderbilt matchup, and the Tide was able to avoid a repeat of the Ole Miss game and take down the Commodores.
Alabama typically goes lighter the day before a game to keep players fresh. It’s a different story on Thursdays, however, with the team able to practice longer and with more intensity without having to worry about a game the next day. While Oats has continued to make sure his team doesn’t get complacent, he liked what he saw on the floor during Thursday’s practice.
“I thought it was one of our better practices we’ve had all year from everybody,” Oats said. “I thought — [Chris Youngblood] is gonna go hard that’s who he is. I thought Sears went really hard in practice. I thought some of our young guys — CY and [Mouhamed Dioubate] were going at in practice pretty good. I didn’t think anybody had a bad practice.”
Oats said he’s yet to see a complete 40 minutes of defense from his side this season. Alabama is much improved in that area from a year ago, currently ranking No. 45 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. First-year assistant Brian Adams has led the defense this season and his impact can be seen in the team’s organization thus far.
The key moving forward for Alabama is sustaining its defensive presence, especially when it gets a big lead. The Tide has gotten complacent in games before, which has allowed its opponents to trim away at leads. Against Vanderbilt, defensive miscommunication led to a barrage of 3s and the Commodores cut Alabama’s lead to just eight points with 2:54 remaining.
Preventing those kinds of lapses starts in the practice gym. And Oats’ assessment of Thursday’s practice is a promising sign that his players are getting the message that sustained intensity in practice will lead to better results in games. His message was supported as Alabama road its first-half domination to a win Thursday. Now Oats wants to see his side take it one step further on the defensive end.
“Day before a game we go a little shorter, little lighter, make sure they’re fresh for the game tomorrow but I thought there was still some good intensity,” Oats said. “But I thought Thursday’s practice was one of the better ones we’ve had all year. So if we can come out and play for 40 minutes like we practiced for the entire time on Thursday I think we’ll be in good shape tomorrow.”
Alabama faces LSU at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
(WHNT) — Residents of North Alabama made it out to the polls on Tuesday for the 2026 Primary Runoff Elections, and News 19 is following the results as they come in.
We are following several runoff races, including multiple state races.
News 19 is updating the election results as they become available. You can find the results for each runoff race below:
Oklahoma outlasted Georgia, winning 4-3, to move to 2-0 in the Men’s College World Series and is now one win away from the championship series.
The Bulldogs will next rematch with Texas at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.
OU freshman right-hander Xander Mercurius shined in the win, unfazed by UGA’s high octane offense, lasting 7.1 innings with nine strikeouts while holding the Bulldogs to three runs.
Check out some of the most notable numbers and moments from the contest:
- Mercurius and Georgia’s Caden Aoki both duked it out for seven-plus innings. The last MCWS game where both starting pitchers threw seven-plus innings was Game 13 in 2023
- Wake Forest’s Rhett Lowder (7 IP) and LSU’s Paul Skenes (8 IP)
- They threw a combined 219 pitches
- Oklahoma handed Georgia its first loss since May 16 (Auburn)
- Oklahoma scored three runs in the first after scoring two in the first in the Sooners’ MCWS opener
- UGA went 0-for-12 with runners on base, scoring all runs via solo homers
- The Bulldogs were also 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position
- Th 4-3 victory marks the Sooners’ fourth 2-0 start in MCWS history
- Georgia’s Daniel Jackson hit his 32nd home run of the season 447 feet, the third longest homer at the MCWS since the move to Charles Schwab Field
- With brothers Kolby (Georgia) and Kyle (Oklahoma) Branch playing, the game marked the first time in MCWS two brothers played against each other in the same game. You can read more about the Branch brothers and the family here.
The Texas-Georgia game will be the second time the two have met in Omaha, with Georgia topping the Longhorns 7-1 on Saturday. Now the two will meet again in an elimination game.
OMAHA, Neb. — Alabama baseball has its back against the wall at the College World Series as the Crimson Tide opens up an elimination game against the Texas Longhorns.
The Crimson Tide was blanked in its opening game of the event, losing 9-0 to Oklahoma, and faces a Longhorns program that fell to Georgia 7-1. The game begins at 1 p.m. CT with the winner playing on Wednesday against the loser of this evening’s Georgia-Oklahoma matchup.
Follow along for live score updates and analysis from Charles Schwab Field. Be sure to frequently refresh your browser, as the most recent information will appear right below this paragraph.
Top 1 Inning
Pregame
- 12:50 p.m. CT – The national anthem has been sung and we’re about to get underway at Charles Schwab Stadium.
- 11:31 a.m. CT – The skies are completely clear and the temperature reads 77-degrees. It’s perfect weather for an afternoon baseball game.
Starting Lineups
Alabama
- CF – Bryce Fowler
- SS – Justin Lebron
- C – Brady Neal
- 3B – Jason Torres
- DH – John Lemm
- LF – Eric Hines
- 2B – Brennan Holt
- 1B – Luke Vaughn
- RF – Peyton Steele
Starting Pitcher: LHP – Zane Adams – 3.96 ERA, 8-4, 98 SO, 27 BB, 88.2 IP
Texas
- RF – Aiden Robbins
- C – Carson Tinney
- LF – Anthony Pack Jr.
- DH – Ethan Mendoza
- SS – Adrian Rodriguez
- 2B – Temo Becerra
- 1B – Ashton Larson
- 3B – Casey Borba
- CF – Dariyan Pendergrass
Starting Pitcher: RHP – Ruger Riojas – 4.04 ERA, 5-2, 113 SO, 19 BB, 75.2 IP
How to Watch: 7-Seed Alabama at the College World Series
Who: 7-seed Alabama (39-20, 18-12 SEC) vs. 6-seed Texas (45-14, 19-10)
What: NCAA Baseball College World Series
When: Monday, June 15, 1 p.m. CT
Where: Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, NE
TV: ESPN
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network. LISTEN LIVE
Series: The Crimson Tide is 1-7 all time against the Texas Longhorns, dating back to the first matchup in 1983. Alabama is 1-2 against the Longhorns since Texas moved into the Southeastern Conference in 2024.
Last Meeting: Texas defeated Alabama two games to one in a weekend series in the middle of April. Alabama struck out 49 times across the three games, but did take the Sunday matchup 2-1 to avoid being swept.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide swept St. John’s in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional behind two strong performances by starting pitchers Tyler Fay and Zane Adams. Alabama endured a 17-hour rain delay in game two and saw senior Jason Torres hit a seventh-inning grand slam to eliminate the Red Storm and advance to the College World Series for the first time since 1999. However, it opened with the College World Series with an uncharacteristic 9-0 loss to Oklahoma.
Last time out, Texas: The Longhorns ace Dylan Volantis took the ball against the Georgia Bulldogs and gave up four runs in the first inning. Designated hitter Ethan Mendoza got Texas’ only RBI in the fifth inning, cutting Georgia’s lead to 4-1, but that’s as close as the Longhorns got as the Bulldogs won 7-1 to stay in the winner’s side of the College World Series bracket.
Omaha Weather Information
Saturday, June 13 – Partly cloudy early, followed by increasing clouds with showers developing later in the day. High around 80 degrees. 10-15 miles per hour winds with chances of rain at 50-percent.
Monday, June 15 – Forecasts call for 79-degrees at first pitch with sunny skies and just 24-percent humidity and an eight mile per hour western wind.
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