Someone needed to tell Nate Oats his Alabama men’s basketball team had just won a game 111-73 the way he was talking. It was like the Crimson Tide had given up 111 points.
A few minutes after No. 6 Alabama crushed No. 24 Mississippi State on Tuesday at Coleman Coliseum, Oats was lamenting the second-half defensive effort.
“I wasn’t happy with the defense in the second half,” Oats said. “We’ve only had one game that we had better defensive efficiency in the second half. That was the LSU one where we weren’t very good in the first half. We better be better in the second half. We weren’t better in the second half again today. You could use the excuse it’s hard to play with a lead. If you’re immature, it’s hard to play with a lead. Hard on defense.”
Alabama (23-5, 12-3 SEC) turned in a stout first-half performance on defense. The Crimson Tide allowed the Bulldogs to score only .750 points per possession before the break. That’s a championship-level number. And the result reflected it. Alabama held a 53-27 halftime lead.
Then in the second half, Mississippi State (19-9, 7-8 SEC) averaged 1.278 points per possession.
“If you’re mature then it’s about getting stops,” Oats said. “You’re not playing the scoreboard. You’re playing the guy across the line from you. You’re trying to dominate him every possession, not giving up free looks. I was a little perturbed, especially the group there at the end. I feel like they scored on us every possession to close the game out.”
If it feels like nitpicking, maybe it is. But Oats isn’t just trying to coach a good basketball team. He wants one that will compete for a national championship. T
So, he lamented the second-half defense because it wasn’t at a championship level. Not like the first half.
“We’re just trying to take that next step with our defense,” guard Mark Sears said. “We can’t feel any sympathy for the team.”
