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What Nate Oats is ‘Most Curious to See’ From Alabama Basketball Against LSU

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11 months ago

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What Nate Oats is ‘Most Curious to See’ From Alabama Basketball Against LSU


TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Being a top-10 team in any sport has its perks, but it also often comes with the consequences and frequency of overlooking opponents.

March Madness is built on this principle. And speaking of college basketball, the No. 4-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide has already succumbed to this practically inevitable concept when it fell to Ole Miss at home on Jan. 14 in what head coach Nate Oats described as a “disgusting” loss.

Ole Miss was undefeated in SEC play at the time but still didn’t have the respect that some of the top-ranked teams in the conference had. Alabama came off the loss to the Rebels with big wins against Kentucky and Vanderbilt, but now the Tide face LSU, who is 1-4 against the conference this season, on Saturday night. Alabama may be the heavy favorite, but Oats has no plans to fall into the overlooking trap once again.

“We’re going to have to see how mature we are to see what kind of effort we bring for the entire 40 minutes tomorrow,” Oats said during Friday’s press conference. “That’s what I’m most curious to see. I hope that our guys are taking these guys seriously. Obviously, we’re going to be a better team going in. That’s what everybody is going to think, but that doesn’t really matter. How many times do you watch college basketball and this team is supposed to win––they’ve got more wins, their record’s better––and if you don’t come to play, then none of that matters.

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“I hope we’re mature enough, with enough seniors, and our leadership is good enough to know that these guys are more than capable of scoring it. They’ve got a lot of scores on the floor. And if we don’t take care of the ball and make it real easy for them to score off our turnovers lately, we’ve got a problem.”

Oats admitted to Alabama’s defensive issues of late as the Tide is 333rd in the country in points allowed per game (78.8), but this is a game he’s aiming to see a whole 40 minutes of cohesive defense as he’d “like to see that one time.” That said, this will not be an easy task.

“LSU is capable of beating us at home,” Oats said. “They’ve out-rebounded teams frequently enough and we’ve had an issue with some rebounding at times this year. They’ve gotten to the free-throw line, I think they’re 10-0 when they’ve shot more free throws than their opponents. We have to be able to guard without fouling––we’ve had an issue with that. So some stuff we’ve had issues with they do well.

“Our transition defense is going to have to be better. Our turnovers, we gotta make sure we’re taking care of the ball and getting quality shots up. I’m very curious to see whether we got enough leadership to play 40 minutes on the defensive end tomorrow or not.”

So, who are the LSU players that Oats expects his team to not overlook? Well, he first mentioned guard Cam Carter, who is fourth in the SEC in scoring when looking at just conference play. Oats said a plethora of other veteran Tigers “can definitely score the ball” and that they have “real rim protection” with forward Daimion Collins.

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“You’re going to get your shot punched because you’re not being focused on playing the correct way,” Oats said. “Also, they’ve got transition out the other way, so they’re capable of scoring the ball if we don’t guard. If we don’t take care of the ball and turn it over, now all of a sudden you’ve got yourself a problem.”

Read More: How to Watch: No. 4 Alabama Basketball vs. LSU

Alabama Basketball vs. LSU Official Injury Report

Alabama Basketball is ‘Not Tolerating Dumb Turnovers’ Ahead of LSU



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Alabama

Alabama Adds JUCO Defensive Back, Tuscaloosa Native to 2026 Signing Class

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5 hours ago

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December 15, 2025

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Alabama Adds JUCO Defensive Back, Tuscaloosa Native to 2026 Signing Class


Alabama football added another member to its 2026 signing class in cornerback Nick Sherman on Sunday evening.

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Sherman is the Crimson Tide’s 24th signee, as this news comes 11 days after early national signing day.

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The JUCO product was formerly at Itawamba Community College. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is also a Tuscaloosa native, as he went to Northridge High School.

This season at Itawamba CC, Sherman logged 24 tackles and two interceptions in eight games as a sophomore.

Sherman is the fifth defensive back in the Crimson Tide’s 2026 signing class, as he joins cornerbacks Zyan Gibson and Jorden Edmonds, along with safeties Jireh Edwards and Rihyael Kelley.

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Alabama’s 2026 Signing Class

  1. CB Zyan Gibson, 5-foot-11, 177 lbs. – Gadsden, Alabama (Committed 12/24/2024)
  2. CB Jorden Edmonds, 6-foot-2, 175 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 03/26/2025)
  3. EDGE Jamarion Matthews, 6-foot-2, 240 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 02/21/2025)
  4. EDGE Kamhariyan Johnson, 6-foot-4, 260 lbs. – Muscle Shoals, Alabama (Committed 04/12/2025)
  5. OL Chris Booker, 6-foot-4, 285 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 02/20/2025)
  6. QB Jett Thomalla, 6-foot-3, 205 lbs. – Omaha, Nebraska (Committed 06/17/2025)
  7. S Rihyael Kelley, 6-foot-3, 180 lbs. – Cincinnati, Ohio (Committed 06/23/2025)
  8. SN Eli Deutsch, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Franklin, Wisconsin (Committed 06/24/2025)
  9. RB Ezavier Crowell, 5-foot-10, 210 lbs. – Jackson, Alabama (Committed 06/26/2025)
  10. TE Mack Sutter, 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. – Dunlap, Illinois (Committed 06/26/2025)
  11. LB Zay Hall, 6-foot-2, 222 lbs. – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Committed 06/27/2025)
  12. LB Xavier Griffin, 6-foot-3, 200 lbs. – Gainesville, Georgia (Committed 06/29/2025)
  13. WR Cederian Morgan, 6-foot-4, 220 lbs – Alexander City, Alabama (Committed 07/02/2025)
  14. DL Nolan Wilson, 6-foot-4, 250 lbs. – Picayune, Mississippi (Committed 07/04/2025)
  15. S Jireh Edwards, 6-foot-2, 210 lbs. – Baltimore, Maryland (Committed 07/05/2025)
  16. QB Tayden Kaawa, 6-foot-5, 235 lbs. – Orem, Utah (Committed 07/22/2025)
  17. OT Bear Fretwell, 6-foot-6, 295 lbs. – Brooklet, Georgia (Committed 07/25/25)
  18. OT Jared Doughty, 6-foot-5, 300 lbs. – Atlanta, Georgia (Committed 10/05/2025)
  19. EDGE Corey Howard, 6-foot-6, 245 lbs. – Valdosta, Georgia (Committed 10/19/2025)
  20. OL Tyrell Miller, 6-foot-5, 305 lbs. – College of San Mateo (Committed 11/29/2025)
  21. EDGE Malique Franklin, 6-foot-5, 250 lbs. – Daphne, Alabama (Committed 12/02/2025)
  22. TE Jude Cascone, 6-foot-2, 225 lbs. – Marietta, Georgia (Committed 11/30/2025)
  23. RB Traeshawn Brown, 5-foot-10, 190 lb. – Huntsville, Texas (Committed 12/04/2025)
  24. CB Nick Sherman, 6-foot-3, 190 lb, – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Committed 12/14/25)

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Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’

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17 hours ago

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December 14, 2025

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Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’


Ringo, an abandoned puppy that was dropped off at the Madison Police Department earlier this week, will get the surgery he needs thanks to an outpouring of donations from the city’s residents.

On Dec. 9, the Madison Police Department said in a Facebook post it was trying to raise $2,000 so Ringo could get an injured leg amputated.

“Citizens of Madison, we need your help. Recently, an abandoned and abused puppy was brought to us—sweet, loving, and still full of hope despite what he’s been through,” the post said.

“To give him the chance at a healthy, happy life, he needs a surgery to amputate an injured leg. Once he recovers, he’ll be ready for adoption and would make an incredible addition to a loving Madison family—just in time for Christmas.”

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Just three days later, the department said in an update that they’d raised the money they needed, and Ringo would get his surgery in the middle of January.

During a vet visit, the pup was given a clean bill of health and all his required shots.

“We completely met the goal and could not have done it without the help of all our citizens here so we greatly appreciate everything you guys donated for him,” an update video said.

Now the police department is asking for the community to step up again and help get Ringo adopted before his surgery.

“Our next thing we can do is have him adopted. He is ready to go into somebody’s home so he can get acclimated and ready to go before his surgery,” the post said.

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Anyone interested in adopting Ringo is asked to call Madison’s Animal Control at 256-772-5694.



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BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama

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1 day ago

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December 14, 2025

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BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama


BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 12 Alabama fell to No. 1 Arizona in Legacy Arena in the fifth annual C.M. Newton Classic. The Crimson Tide held a 2-point halftime lead, but got decimated in the second half, opening the first six minutes of the second frame with just two field goals made.

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The top-ranked Wildcats went on to claim a 96-75 victory and dropped the Crimson Tide’s record in the event to 2-3.

“They’re obviously a really good team,” Nate Oats said. “There’s a reason they’re number one in the country. I thought the first half we played pretty well. We were down five on the glass and needed to clean it up a little bit, and then the second half we had this issue where we just haven’t had very good starts to the second half. We came out and didn’t have a very good start, and it got progressively worse. I think they scored, shoot 39 the entire first half. They had 39 in less than 12 minutes to start the second half.

“Start of the second half was bad. Obviously, they came out of halftime ready to play; we didn’t. The toughness factor was a problem. It’s impossible – I shouldn’t say impossible. It’s nearly impossible to win a game when your opponent gets 28 more field goal attempts than you. If you look, we outshot them from the field and from the free throw line, both percentage-wise. Free throws, they made one more free throw than we did and they got 28 more field goal attempts. You can’t win games giving your opponent 28 more field goal attempts. Offensive glass we had three the whole game, they had 22. We lost the rebounds by 20 again. This has been a recurring issue for us.”

Alabama History in C.M. Newton Classic

  • 2021 – Davidson 79, Alabama 78
  • 2022 – Gonzaga 100, Alabama 90
  • 2023 – Alabama 101, Liberty 56
  • 2024 – Alabama 100, Illinois 87
  • 2025 – Arizona 96, Alabama 75

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Watch the above video as BamaCentral writers Katie Windham, Hunter De Siver, and Will Miller, provide thoughts and takeaways from the Alabama men’s basketball team’s 96-75 loss against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. The trio discusses the performance of the No. 12 Crimson Tide and the rebounding issues that continue to plague the program.



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