With the Alabama basketball team beating Hofstra in the first round of the March Madness tournament, the next game on tap is against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. As some came into the bracket thinking that the Alabama basketball team was on upset alert, the contest against Texas Tech will not feature a key player.

JT Toppin has been one of the nation's best players, but tore his ACL towards the end of the regular season, leading to the Red Raiders looking to overcome their deficit. Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats spoke on preparing for Texas Tech without Toppin, mentioning how the team will “have to play different,” according to Max Cohan.

“You go with from when they lost Toppin on. When you lose one of the players in the running for National Player of the Year, you'll have to play different once you lose him,” Oats said.

“I don't even think we'll spend a whole lot of time on anything before Toppin went out because they had — I mean, if we were going to lose Philon or whatever, you'd have to make an adjustment,” Oats continued. “I think we'll spend most of our time looking at their games since Toppin went out, and they're still very good.”

Alabama basketball's Nate Oats on the strengths of Texas Tech

Article Continues Below

While it was a close game against Hofsta in the first half, the Alabama basketball team would come out with a 53-point second half to pull away. The focus is now on Texas Tech, as Oats goes into the strengths of the team, despite not having Toppin.

“They've got a lot of shooting, they've got very good guard play, they've still got bigs that they play a very slow, methodical style that could cause problems if we're not locked in on the defensive end with a quick turnaround,” Oats said.

“We play in two days. So you've only got one day between games,” Oats continued. “We have to get locked in because they do a great job running their sets.”

At any rate, the matchup will take place on Sunday night.