Alabama HC Nate Oats makes strong statement about Tennessee basketball after loss to Vols
The Tennessee Vols knocked off No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday night, winning 68-59 in front of a raucous crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena. Tennessee's win over Alabama came after the Vols lost back-to-back games on buzzer-beating three-pointers while up two points. If either of those shots clang off the rim and the Vols win both games, […]
The Tennessee Vols knocked off No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday night, winning 68-59 in front of a raucous crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Tennessee's win over Alabama came after the Vols lost back-to-back games on buzzer-beating three-pointers while up two points.
If either of those shots clang off the rim and the Vols win both games, Tennessee would be in a position to take over as the No. 1 team in the nation next week (the game on Saturday in Lexington against Kentucky would need to be a win, of course).
Instead, the Vols will have to settle for getting "back on track". According to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Tennessee is a No. 2 seed again with their win over Alabama.
After the game, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats spoke to reporters and he made a strong statement about Tennessee — specifically about the Vols' defense.
“Tennessee proved why they’ve got the No. 1 defense in the country," said Oats. "They did a great job on us. We turned the ball over way too much. They had eight turnovers — we had 19 turnovers. We scored two points off their eight turnovers — they scored 26 points off our 19 turnovers. To me, that’s the biggest area of the game."
"It was their physicality. They got into our guards. We didn’t handle it well. We obviously didn’t do a great job preparing our guys to go against the physicality that was gonna come with this game."
"We only get them once," added Oats. "If we get them again, it’ll be in the SEC Tournament. Hopefully, we’re better prepared to play against a defense like this. Our guys have now seen it. There’s a reason these guys are good. Their record isn’t what everybody thought it was gonna be in conference because they’ve been the unluckiest team I’ve seen with the last two losses, losing back-to-back games quite like they did. This is a really good team, and they showed it tonight."
It's clear that Oats has a lot of respect for the Volunteers. And unlike some Tennessee fans, he doesn't think those last-second losses are an indictment of the Vols basketball program.
All of Tennessee's goals are still reachable. If things play out the right way, they might even still have a shot at a No. 1 seed (they'd need some help). The Vols can't afford another bad four-game stretch, but Wednesday night showed that this team is still a threat to win it all this spring.
Featured image via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
