Crimson Corner: Math, Pop-Tarts and Alabama Basketball

It's quite surprising when you think about the quick rise to prominence of Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats.

Just eight years ago, Oats was a math teacher at Romulus High School in Michigan. According to Yahoo Sports, Oats was teaching five math classes a day while selling Flamin' Hot Cheetos, Capri Suns and Pop-Tarts out of his office in order to raise funds for his school's basketball program.

While his days of teaching math in the classroom are over, he hasn't left the subject behind. In fact, he arguably uses math now more than ever. Since his arrival in college basketball, Oats has been a huge proponent of numbers and statistics in the sport. Analyzing the data, he uses the numbers to track skills and weaknesses in not only his team but his opponents as well.

So far, it's definitely paid off for him.

Alabama basketball is poised to finish the regular season with an SEC title — its first since 2002. If the Crimson Tide were to win the SEC Tournament, it'll be the program's first time since 1991.

Let's put ourselves in Oats' snazzy brown wingtips for a second and take a look at the numbers that have gotten the team this far in the 2020-2021 season:

For starters, let's look at the offense. Under former Alabama coach Avery Johnson, the Crimson Tide finished in the bottom 50 on two occasions in adjusted tempo. Since Oats' arrival, Alabama is looking to finish in the top 10 both years — the first time ever for the program in the KenPom era of basketball.

Last season, the Crimson Tide led the SEC in scoring, three-point shooting percentage and three-pointers made per game. This season, Alabama is at it once again. At LSU back in January, the Crimson Tide broke the SEC single-game record with 23 three-pointers. Senior John Petty Jr. is second in the league in three-pointers made per game, averaging 2.5 this season.

The defense, though, is where the numbers get interesting. Alabama ranks roughly 190th nationally in points allowed per game at over 70. However, remember that pace of play we discussed earlier? Oats' pace allows teams to score more points due to the quick turnaround that the Crimson Tide has on offense.

When looking at adjusted defensive efficiency — a stat that takes the number of points scored per 100 possessions on defense — Alabama allows 88.2 points. That number has it ranked second in the country and is a considerable improvement over last season's 99.5 average.

Throughout the season, the Crimson Tide has had tight defense in the paint, forcing opponents to shoot from beyond the arc in roughly one-third of their scoring attempts. Combine that with Alabama holding opponents to a 45.4-percent field-goal percentage, and the Crimson Tide ranks 16th in the country — the fourth-best for the program in the last 23 seasons.

Alabama still has a bit to go before the end of the season, but a win on Wednesday night at Arkansas could seal the deal on the Crimson Tide's regular-season SEC title. There is no doubt that Oats has been reviewing the numbers since Saturday night, preparing his team for another math lesson. Only this time, the math lesson will be out on the hardwood rather than in a classroom.

And with numbers like we've seen coming out of Alabama as of late, Oats probably won't have to sell Pop-Tarts out of his office for quite some time.