After leading by two points, 41-39, at the half against the Arizona Wildcats, the Alabama Crimson Tide fell apart in the second half and ended up losing in blowout fashion, 96-75. Alabama was outscored, 57-34 after halftime, and Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats was questioned postgame as to whether or not he should have called a timeout to stymie Arizona’s momentum.
But Nate Oats flipped the question on reporters after Alabama’s loss to Arizona, saying that there was nothing he could have said in a timeout that would have ultimately changed the outcome, as per Emilee Smarr of The Tuscaloosa News.
“Am I going to call timeout to tell them to play harder?” Oats questioned. “Call a timeout and make adjustments? I’m not going to call a timeout and tell them to play harder.”
Oats also stated that effort and is not something that he should need to call a timeout for, that it’s something the team needs to be able to figure out on the fly.
In the loss, Labaron Philon led Alabama with 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Latrell Wrightsell Jr. added 21 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Following the loss, Alabama dropped to 7-3 on the season, and had a four-game win streak snapped. The Crimson Tide do not play again until Wednesday, Dec. 17 against South Florida.
This is Alabama’s seventh season with Oats at the helm as head coach. Last year, he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 28-9, and 13-5 in SEC play. They reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, a season after Oats led the program to its first ever Final Four.
