Nate Oats and Alabama basketball eked out a 95-90 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday. However, Oats admits it wasn’t the cleanest performance from the Crimson Tide.
The win ultimately moved Alabama to 6-1 on the season. And while Rutgers is currently unranked, it is still a strong win on the Tide’s resume. But if Alabama wants to truly build off of the win, Oats says the team must make drastic improvements, via Jeff Goodman of Field of 68.
“We got to figure our defense our,” Oats said. “Our defense is nowhere where it needs to be.”
The Crimson Tide have allowed 80+ points in their last four games. While that comes with a 3-1 record overall, it paints a worrying picture for the remainder of the season. They even allowed Arkansas State to score 79 in the second game of the year. Clearly, Alabama needs to follow through on Oats’ request.
Against Rutgers, the biggest problem was rookie Dylan Harper. He managed to pop off for a game-high 37 points. With Alabama hoisting massive NCAA Tournament goals, they’re only going to face stiffer and stiffer competition. Harper won’t be the only elite scorer on the docket. By only securing a five-point win, another offensive outburst could lead to Alabama doom.
Still, despite their blip against Purdue, Alabama basketball is having a strong season. Among their six wins are victories over then No. 25 Illinois and then No. 6 Houston. Their regular season schedule is stocked with powerful matchups such as Auburn, North Carolina and Kentucky twice.
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Alabama basketball was able to get away with allowing 90 against Rutgers. But that won’t be the case every night. As Nate Oats looks to will his team to success, he knows the defensive side of the ball will be crucial. The team has scorers for days, but if they can’t stop the ball, it’ll all be a moot point.
Oats’ squad will have an opportunity to show off their defensive resiliency in their next matchup against Oregon.