The Alabama Crimson Tide is headed back to the Sweet Sixteen after a dominating victory on Sunday night over Texas Tech to reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth year in a row.
Nate Oats has ushered in a golden era of hoops in Tuscaloosa and brought Alabama to its most successful run in program history, with potentially no real sign of slowing down.
That does not mean he doesn’t know how difficult it is to win this time of year, and he made sure fans understood that while speaking on Monday during the Hey Coach show.
“This is not easy to do. Please don’t take it for granted,” Oats said of the fourth straight trip ahead of a very tall task against No. 1 seed Michigan. “Let’s get everybody supporting this team any which way we can. We’re gonna give it everything we got. Michigan is not gonna be easy. We’ve been underdogs before in this game. We’ve come out with some big wins in the past. And we’ve lost some of these Sweet 16 games, too.”
“I think our guys will be ready, and we’re gonna have to have an elite coaching performance, elite playing performance. But our guys are ready. Super excited to coach this game.”
The Tide will tip off on Friday evening against Michigan with a third Elite Eight run under Oats on the line, something the program had done just once before his arrival.
It should be a tremendous night of basketball in Chicago, and though Alabama is a massive underdog, fans should heed Oats’ advice and appreciate how far the program has come in less than a decade under the head coach.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
