Alabama Head Coach Nate Oats Describes Concern With Latest Loss

In Alabama’s final home of the regular season, No. 5 Florida came out victorious in a 99-94 shootout against the Crimson Tide. That loss was the second straight and fourth out of the last six games for Alabama, and Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats is keenly aware of the downward spiral his team is on.

“We knew it was going to be a tough stretch to close,” Oats said. “I thought we’d do better. I thought we’d at least play with more effort; I’m not panicked we’re losing it’s more concerning how we lost, you know, getting out-rebounded by 15 and just not getting the 50-50, balls. And I think Florida had more pop, more energy. So that’s concerning to me.”

The Crimson Tide allowed Florida to grab 16 offensive rebounds that led to 19 second-chance points and a 22-10 fast break point advantage for the Gators.

“You got to be able to rebound the ball on the defensive side, to get out in transition,” Oats said. “The fact that, you know, they had 16 (offensive) boards… I mean, you saw we’re taking (the ball) out of the net too much. We were trying to run on makes. We’re too slow getting it out. But if you can’t get stops, it’s hard to be, you know, a fast-paced team…So our defensive rebounding wasn’t where it needed to be.”