TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Nate Oats started his postgame press conference explaining why Alabama would have a much better winter break after its 81-54 win over Kent State. According to Oats, a happy holiday hinged on the Tide’s defensive performance against the Golden Flashes.

“Much better defensive effort so it’ll be a lot better Christmas break for us,” Oats said with a smile at the podium. “We did make a big point of emphasis on defense, especially after that debacle up in North Dakota with [Fighting Hawks guard Treysen Eaglestaff].”

It was far from a perfect offensive display for the Tide against Kent State. Alabama’s lingering turnover issues reared its ugly head for a second straight and the Tide continued shooting poorly from 3-point range.

However, after defensive letdowns nearly sprang an upset in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Alabama got back to the basics over the next few days at practice. The team worked on defensive fundamentals rather than solely focusing on film study.

That extra emphasis paid off as Alabama equaled its lowest points allowed in a game this season with 54. Tide forward Grant Nelson swatted a shot attempt by Kent State’s leading scorer VonCameron Davis in the opening few minutes, which helped set the tone the rest of the way.

“I think that [block] and just really everyone loading in the gaps, helping each other out,” Nelson said of Alabama’s defensive performance. “I thought that was huge. I think we kept them to six points in the first three media timeouts, that was huge for us. We emphasized that like I said and just a lot of credit to our guys for carrying it over on the court.”

While Alabama didn’t shoot the ball well, it made sure Kent State’s shooting was even more ineffective. Alabama communicated well on switches and contested shots from beyond the arc. It honed in on Davis, who averages 14.9 points per game but was limited to under 10 points for just the second time this season. Davis scored nine on an inefficient 4 of 15 from the field and had a minus-31 box plus-minus rating.

Coming into the game, Oats also felt like Kent State guard Jalen Sullinger (9.7 points per game) could be a dangerous weapon against Alabama’s defense with the potential to do the same thing Eaglestaff did for North Dakota. The Fighting Hawks guard scored a career-high 40 points, single-handedly pulling them back into the game late.

After missing the mark severely on guarding Eaglestaff, the Tide understood the assignment when it came to Sullinger and locked down the Kent State senior.

“He ended up shooting 1 of 14 and didn’t score in the second half,” Oats said. “So I think we did a little bit of a better job being locked in to a perimeter guy. We held them to a pretty good field goal percentage, they only shot 28%. Traditionally, this has been one of the hardest playing teams — I was in the MAC for six years and they get all of the O Boards. We gave up too many second-chance points but I thought for the most part our first-shot defense was good.”

Alabama continued to play effective post-defense in spite of the offensive rebounds. The Tide finished with six blocks as a team. Center Clifford Omoruyi won the Hard Hat Award for the most blue collar points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Nelson had 14. Off the bench, Derrion Reid had a pair of steals while Mouhamed Dioubate chipped in with two blocks.

Following the win, Alabama jumped from No. 57 to No. 42 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com. As the Tide looks to build on its defensive momentum, better play on offense will have to follow. Alabama’s defense is much improved from last season when it was at its best, but it won’t be able to win games on defense alone when league play tips off on Jan. 4.

“We struggled a little offensively, and we’re gonna have to figure some stuff out here before SEC play,” Oats said. “The turnovers have been really just way too many — 13 in the first half. We did the same thing two games in a row. We only had one the second half against North Dakota. We ended up with six in the second half here. So we’ve got to do a better job at turnovers. I don’t have an answer for the free throw problems, but the only way to fix that is get in the gym and work. The good thing for us is we don’t have any school for a few weeks here, so after they get back from Christmas break, we’ll be in the gym and putting some time in.”

Alabama will conclude non-conference play against Summit League side South Dakota State. The Tide and Jackrabbits will tip off at 2 p.m. CT Dec. 29 inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Very cold temperatures greeted Alabamians on Sunday morning.

The National Weather Service said temperatures overnight bottomed out in the low 20s in parts of the state and even were at the freezing mark in south Alabama.

Here were the lowest temperatures between midnight and 6 a.m. Sunday from around Alabama from the National Weather Service:

* Alexander City: 30 degrees

* Anniston: 23 degrees

* Auburn: 28 degrees

* Birmingham: 24 degrees

* Decatur: 25 degrees

* Demopolis: 25 degrees

* Dothan: 30 degrees

* Evergreen: 28 degrees

* Eufaula: 28 degrees

* Gadsden: 21 degrees

* Haleyville: 22 degrees

* Huntsville: 26 degrees

* Mobile: 31 degrees

* Montgomery: 25 degrees

* Muscle Shoals: 24 degrees

* Ozark: 29 degrees

* Prattville: 25 degrees

* Sylacauga: 24 degrees

* Talladega: 22 degrees

* Troy: 26 degrees

* Tuscaloosa: 25 degrees

Temperatures today will be a few degrees higher than on Saturday. Highs will range from the low to mid-40s in south Alabama to the 50s in central Alabama, to the mid-50s in south Alabama (today’s forecast is at the top of this post).

Tonight will be chilly again, but not as cold as last night. Here are the forecast low temperatures from Sunday night into Monday morning:

Gradual warming is expected to continue this week, with the next chances for rain arriving on Wednesday, Christmas Day. The weather service isn’t expecting a lot of rain, and no severe weather is anticipated.

High temperatures on Christmas Day will be warmer, with 60s expected across a wide area and possibly some 70s near the coast. Here are the expected Christmas Day temperatures:

The warming trend looks to hold past Christmas. Here is the six- to 10-day temperature outlook, and it shows a high probability of above-average temperatures for Alabama through the end of December:

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t celebrate his team’s dominating 42-17 win the way he used to when he suited up for the Alabama Crimson Tide as an undergraduate student. 

The cigar he had with him was not random or a prop. It was part of a tradition he learned in Tuscaloosa.

pic.twitter.com/LWmqzNKovd

— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) December 22, 2024

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As the legend has it, in 1961 one of Bear Bryant’s trainers lit up a stogie following a Tide win which had ended a five-game slide to the Volunteers. This created a tradition maintained over the next two decades – which eventually spread to the opposite sideline.

The Volunteers have been participating in the victory cigar tradition since the early 1980s. It has spread from the sideline into the stands and tailgates. Earlier this season, the Volunteers beat the Crimson Tide in Knoxville, creating a plume of smoke above Neyland Stadium.

Tennessee students light up cigars after an SEC conference game between Tennessee and Alabama in Neyland Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. © Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So it was appropriate that McLaughlin, now with the Buckeyes following his Rimington Award-winning season in Columbus found a way to pay homage to his first alma mater while celebrating with his second one.

Former Alabama center Seth McLaughlin is smoking a cigar on the Ohio State sideline as time expires and the Buckeyes beat Tennessee.

— Sidelines – Bama (@SSN_Alabama) December 22, 2024

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Ohio State plays Oregon in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.