Everything Nate Oats said after Alabama beat UNC basketball again

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Dec 4, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats reacts in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Alabama basketball is getting pretty good at beating North Carolina.

Nate Oats’ hot-shooting team had six players finish in double figures, and the Crimson Tide beat the Tar Heels, 94-79, in the SEC-ACC Challenge Wednesday night in Chapel Hill.

It was Alabama’s third straight victory since November 2022 against UNC, whom the Crimson Tide also beat in the Sweet 16 of last season’s NCAA Tournament. Unlike that late night back in March in Los Angeles, this one wasn’t close.

Alabama (7-2 overall) led 43-34 at halftime and used a 9-0 run shortly after intermission. The Crimson Tide led by as many as 18 in the final 10 minutes at the Dean Dome after Houston Mallette buried a 3-pointer to put Alabama ahead 70-52.

A transfer from Pepperdine, Mallette had planned to redshirt this season. That changed after Latrell Wrightsell’s season-ending Achilles’ injury last Saturday against Oregon.

Mark Sears led the Tide with 20 points against UNC (4-4). Alabama got 15 apiece from freshman Labaron Philon and Auburn transfer Aden Holloway, and Clifford Omoruyi and freshman Derrion Reed each had 11. Grant Nelson, who led Alabama’s Sweet 16 effort over the Tar Heels last season, finished with 10 points.

Nate Oats’ Opening Statement after 94-79 win over UNC

“I thought our guys showed a lot of toughness, resilience. We came off a tough loss against Oregon and easily could have let that loss turn into two, but I thought they got their minds right. Ready to play. I thought they executed the defensive game plan outside of transition buckets, which that’s what they (UNC) do best. We didn’t do a great job with it, particularly in the first half. Outside of that, in the half-court they struggled and I thought our guys did a really good job of executing the game plan.

“I was super happy for these two guys: Houston (Mallette),…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/everything-nate-oats-said-alabama-110006622.html

Author : Roll Tide Wire

Publish date : 2024-12-05 11:00:00

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