Nate Oats Calling for Elite Defense from Alabama to Limit Josh Hubbard

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— To say that the Alabama basketball team is familiar with the repertoire of junior Mississippi State point guard Josh Hubbard would be understating the level of impact Hubbard has had against the Crimson Tide in the recent past. On Tuesday night, No. 18 Alabama (11-5, 1-2 SEC) gets to deal with him again in its trip to Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville (8 p.m. CT).

Hubbard led all Bulldogs scorers both times Mississippi State played Alabama last season, putting up 38 points during the matchup in Humphrey Coliseum last January and 21 in a lopsided loss in Tuscaloosa the following month. This season, he averages 29.3 points per game against SEC opponents. He's one of the best guards in the league, and plays like it opposite the Crimson Tide.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats hasn't forgotten what Hubbard has done against his squad. Alabama may have escaped Hubbard's season-high scoring game with a win last season in Starkville. That doesn't mean the team is comfortable giving him a chance to repeat a performance where he made 14 shot attempts from the field and six three-pointers.

Oats said the coaching staff advised last season's team of Hubbard's talent before facing him in his home arena, but felt like there were too many plays the 2024-25 Crimson Tide let up against him on the road, especially early on.

"We better have a better plan than we did last year when he had 38. They're a good team, and he can score it. We gotta have some guards be ready to play him. They can't fall asleep off the ball," Oats said on Monday afternoon. "As soon as you fall asleep, he's sprinting off an off-ball screen or sprinting back to get it back from the big after he threw it to him."

The Bulldogs' (10-6, 2-1 SEC) star player is currently averaging 22.8 points, 2.3 boards and 3.8 assists per contest while shooting 42.8 percent from the field. Unsurprisingly, Hubbard is Mississippi State's leading scorer; he also leads the Bulldogs in assists. Oats (as many would) interprets the challenge of stopping Hubbard as an approach requiring the Crimson Tide to spare no expense defensively.

"You gotta be alert that he's probably coming back towards the ball at any point. When he's got the ball in his hands, he's been elite in ball screens. If you don't have your big up to level the ball screen, he comes off. He's pretty good shooting pull-ups," he said. "It's a lot of pressure to put your guards on, but if you bring your big up, [and] he gets too aggressive, he's also been splitting and turning around."

Oats has been vocal about wanting Alabama's guards to defend better. On Monday, he chalked up sophomore Jalil Bethea's recent decline in minutes to his defensive form. If the Crimson Tide coach wanted a trial-by-fire test in that department for his backcourt players, Hubbard is more than capable of obliging. That goes for the frontcourt as well.

"Our bigs gotta be ready to do their job correctly, and we probably gotta have a little bit [of] change-up in our ball-screen coverages with him," Oats said. "Our guards can't fall asleep. They gotta be elite, and he's also pretty good at drawing fouls... He kinda kicks his legs out on his jumper. Seems like it's kinda part of his jumper, but he seems to draw a lot of fouls, so we gotta be able to guard him without fouling too."

Defending without the foul was not an area in which the Crimson Tide excelled during Saturday's loss to Texas at Coleman Coliseum. Four players finished the game with four fouls, one of whom was junior shooting guard Aden Holloway. Freshmen Amari Allen and London Jemison, along with forward Keitenn Bristow, also picked up four fouls. Guard Houston Mallette had three.

Alabama has won eight games in a row against Mississippi State. Its last loss in the series came at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 15, 2022. Four of the Crimson Tide's past five losses against the Bulldogs have been on the road. Keeping Hubbard, who has reached 30 points or more in three of his past six games, in check is a critical component to Alabama avoiding that fate in 2026.

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