Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats said Friday that the message to his team was simple.
“Our goal is to win championships,” said Oats. “We didn’t win the SEC regular season this year… Had a shot to win the [SEC] tournament championship, which we won two out of the last three years. Didn’t do that.”
“Here is a chance to win the biggest championship out of all of them,” said Oats.
In just his fifth season at the helm, Nate Oats has led the Crimson Tide to their first Final Four in program history. Alabama basketball has been on an upward trend, having been to three of the last four Sweet Sixteen’s. This is Oats’ second-straight program that he has built up, leaving Buffalo after four winning seasons.
The Tide are led by senior guard Mark Sears, coming off a career-best year that landed him on the All-SEC First Team. Sears ranks 11th in the nation in scoring (21.5 PPG), ninth in three-point percentage (43.4%), and 16th amongst guards in field goal percentage (50.4%).
Sears’ backcourt running mate is Aaron Estrada, a 6-3 graduate student who knows how to fill up the stat sheet. The Hofstra transfer recorded the fourth triple-double in program history against Ole Miss back in February. Estrada is the glue that allows this offense to be as high-octane as it is.
Freshman forward Jarin Stevenson is coming off a career-high performance in the Elite Eight, scoring 19 points against Clemson. 15 of those points came via the three-point line, and five threes is also a career-best for the freshman. The NCAA Tournament is a great time to get hot.
Just like its star point guard, Alabama is known for its ability to score the basketball. 90.6 PPG as a team ranks the Crimson Tide 1st in the nation in that category, proving difficult for opposing defenses. The Tide are top 25 in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, fastbreak points, and free throw percentage. The Tide outscored opponents this year by over 9 PPG and average 25.6 PPG off the bench.
Simply put: Good luck defending this team.
UConn will attempt to put out this Crimson fire first as Alabama’s opponent in the Final Four. It’s the highest-scoring offense in Alabama going up against a Top 10 defense in UConn, not to mention one of the most efficient offenses in the nation as well. Sources close to the team say UConn is completely healthy.
It is the toughest test of the year for Alabama basketball, but that’s what the Final Four is all about.