Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats said exactly what he thought about Vanderbilt's schedule and didn’t walk it back. And, yes, Vandy has had a soft slate.
Nate Oats said exactly what he thought about Vanderbilt's schedule and didn’t walk it back.
While Alabama basketball's seventh-year head coach was behind the podium to preview the Crimson Tide's test in Nashville on Wednesday, Jan. 7, a comment he made during his opening statement quickly caught traction online.
"I mean, they haven't played any real, real good teams," Oats said.
Those were fighting words to folks supporting Vanderbilt (14-0), which is just a couple wins away from tying its best start in program history.
The uncomfortable truth for the Commodores, though, is that Oats wasn't wrong.
Sometimes, Oats' pride overshadows the messages he sends in his answers. At other times, the media training doesn't kick in until it's too late. Over the years, he has gotten a sense of when he gets too honest behind the microphone, and he'll soften his stance in a lengthy ramble after a sharp, short sentence that cuts.
On Tuesday, Oats didn't backpedal one bit regarding Vanderbilt's schedule strength.
He heralded how Vanderbilt played the better teams that it has played and commended the team's confidence. Still, he drew the line between metrics and résumé.
"I mean, the metrics say they're good," Oats continued.
KenPom agrees.
Oats praised Vanderbilt's success in the pick-and-roll and the Commodores' lofty efficiency rankings (sixth in offense, 14th in defense). What the metrics also show is that Vanderbilt has done that against the nation’s 121st-ranked strength of schedule.
When comparing undefeated records to battle-tested ones, that distinction matters.
Sure, Alabama's defense is a work in progress. The Tide sits 70th nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, and 10th in the SEC behind Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky − which UA pounded 89-74 in the SEC opener − Georgia, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and LSU.
A ranking from an analytics website isn't required to know that Alabama (11-3) has one of the nation's best backcourts. That only takes an eye test. Still, KenPom backs that up, too, ranking the Tide second nationally in offensive efficiency at 128.6, which is one of the highest marks in program history.
Alabama has achieved those numbers despite a multitude of injuries and, to Oats' point, against the 11th-hardest schedule out of 365 teams ranked by Kenpom.
Five ranked opponents dotted that nonconference gauntlet; four in the top 10, and another in the top 15. Alabama notched wins against No. 5 St. John's and No. 8 Illinois − both away from home. The lone blowout was a 96-75 loss to Arizona, a game Alabama led for more than 11 minutes and spent over three minutes tied, even as guard Aden Holloway played through injury and big man Aiden Sherrell exited in the second half.
That level of resistance simply hasn’t existed on Vanderbilt’s schedule. The Commodores haven't faced a ranked team yet.
Yes, Vanderbilt is 4-0 in Quad 1 games compared to 2-3 Alabama, but wins over UCF, Saint Mary's, SMU and Wake Forest don't measure up to the upper-echelon opposition the Tide has seen. Like Alabama, Vanderbilt is 3-0 in Quad 2 wins. However, it took going into overtime at Memphis to escape with a win, and only a few possessions separated Quad 3 opponent Western Kentucky from snapping Vandy's streak over Thanksgiving.
"They're smart. They're well coached. ... The defense is good. Offensively, they know what they're doing," Oats said.
Oats knew what he was doing when he crafted Alabama's schedule, too.
"Not everybody's played the schedule that we've had. We've got the toughest strength-of-schedule in high major basketball right now if you look at strength of schedule, so hopefully, those games pay off," Oats continued. "Guys are used to playing in tight games. Vanderbilt hasn't had very tight games. To their credit, they've blown everybody out for the most part, and metrics show it, and they've been dominant.
"We're going to have to make sure they don't blow us out, but if this game ends up being a tight game, we've been in tight games here."
What Oats said wasn’t bulletin-board material. Or shouldn't be.
It was résumé math, spoken out loud, and while the metrics say Vanderbilt is good, the schedule suggests it still has something to prove.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Nate Oats says Vanderbilt basketball schedule soft, and he’s right | Smarr
Category: General Sports
