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Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats hyped up the upcoming clash with No. 1 Auburn on Saturday. The No. 2 Crimson Tide blew out the odds against Texas on Tuesday night in their 103-80 win. Meanwhile, the Tigers took care of business at Vanderbilt tonight to ensure that the upcoming Iron Bowl will involve the top-ranked teams in the country.
This is likely the most important home game in Alabama basketball history. And Oats, who's done a phenomenal job in Tuscaloosa since taking over, revealed to Alabama beat writer Nick Kelly what the stakes are heading into Saturday.
“We'll see Saturday who's the best team in the country.”
Alabama basketball is living up to its preseason hype
The Crimson Tide entered this season as the No. 2 ranked team in the country. Alabama basketball was coming off its first Final Four appearance and retaining most of its core from this roster. That included star point guard Mark Sears, who was named second-team All-American in 2024.
Nate Oats' new squad started somewhat slow, losing 2 out of its first eight games. Still, despite these losses, the Crimson Tide never dropped outside of the top ten and picked up multiple quality, nonconference wins. And fortunately, Alabama has been even more impressive in a loaded SEC Conference.
Mark Sears and company have gone 10-1 in conference play and won four games against the top 15 teams. Through 24 games, this team has put together the top-ranked offense in the country. The Crimson Tide are averaging 90.0 points per game, which is 2.8 points more than the second-highest scoring team. That championship-level offense was on full display Tuesday night.
Alabama scored 103 points in Austin on 61.8% shooting from the field, 58.6% from three-point range, and 90.0% from the free-throw line. This included 49 points off the bench in a game that was over by halftime.
The Crimson Tide seem to be playing their best basketball going into this rivalry clash. And they will need that to beat John Broome and company, who are also 10-1 in SEC play. This game, therefore, could decide who will win the regular season conference crown.
While Alabama basketball is focused on Saturday, it's important to note that this team is about to go through a brutal part of its schedule. This slate of games is borderline unprecedented. As of this week, the Crimson Tide's last seven games all come against ranked opponents. That includes four matchups against top-five teams.
Overall, Nate Oats' team will see how great it really is over the next few weeks. It all starts on Saturday afternoon in Tuscaloosa.
