Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats took to the podium to address the media this afternoon just 24 hours away from No. 2 Alabama’s matchup with No. 1 Auburn. Below is everything Oats said about the Tigers’ squad and program today prior to a historic clash on Saturday.
On Auburn’s success and the rivalry:
"Auburn's our rival. They're number one. They've been the number one team in the country for a long time this year. They're very good. Six out of these last eight championships in the SEC have been either Alabama, Auburn, between regular season and tournament. So a lot more than just bragging rights in the state of Alabama, right on this game here tomorrow."
"Auburn was coming off a Final Four before we arrived here. You know, we were just hoping to get into an NCAA tournament, and then, lucky for us there wasn't one, because I don't know that we would have gotten in that first one."
"Auburn's been very good. Like I said, they were in the Final Four before we got here, and they're the number one team in the country now, and they've won both a regular season and a tournament championship since then."
"This rivalry is a little bit bigger, a little bit more of a national stage than Romulus-Belleville was back in the day, but there's an intensity that comes with rivalry games."
On Bruce Pearl:
"I mean, the intensity they play with. He seems like he's always got them ready to go. The actions that they run to get their best players the ball in their instructions. I mean, Broome gets the ball where he's hit the ball. You know, Pettiford, they do a really good job. I mean, out of time outs they run actions to attack different things you're doing. So I mean to me, the best thing that makes them go that most great coaches can do is they motivate their team to play hard and do little stuff. The details, man. And they do. Their teams play hard.”
On Auburn’s players:
"Broome is a national player of the year candidate. One of the best bigs in college basketball. For the last few years running, he's alone."
"They've got a zone, they've got a press, they've got this, you know, they've got a lot of different type defensives that we're gonna be ready for."
“Baker Mazar is a very good player, makes tough shots, can make big time, electric plays, but, you know, they got beat by Yale in the first round without him, because he got tossed early in the game.
“You know, whether they agree that you should have been or not. You know, I don't really have an opinion on all that. The point is, he wasn't in the game to play with his team when they needed him against Yale.
“Bruce is an unbelievable coach. I'm sure he's talked with Chad, and I'm sure Chad has been a lot better this year because they need him on the floor.”
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
