Nate Oats Says Florida Basketball 'Broke Our Will' Last Season in SEC Tournament

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 23 Alabama basketball hits the road for a high profile Sunday matchup with the defending national champions. The Crimson Tide takes on No. 19 Florida in Gainesville as the program looks to keep its SEC regular season championship hopes alive.

Alabama showcased its best defensive performance of the season on Tuesday in a 26-point home victory over the Missouri Tigers. The Crimson Tide will have to pack up its defense and take it on the road to a place the program hasn't won in four years.

Todd Golden and the Florida Gators have recently become a bit of Crimson Tide kryptonite, having won four consecutive matchups against Alabama with an average margin of victory of 14.75 points. Florida ran away with a home game and two SEC Tournament games, and came to Tuscaloosa and won a close contest, scoring 99+ points in all four games.

"The backcourt that they've had was elite," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "Look at all three of those guys in the NBA, and they're really good. I feel like they broke our will a couple times last year, to be honest with you. I was a little disappointed. Some of those guys are back this year, and I'm going to make that point.

With their physicality inside and their shot-making ability with some of those guys on the perimeter, it was a little bit of a tough cover, because we were getting beat up a little bit inside, and you can't help inside when they can make shots at the level they were able to make them at. You kind of trust your bigs to be able to do it, and we didn't, and I think we got a little frustrated. The other thing is they did a great job defensively, and we're trying to get to where we don't have the mentality that our defense is affected by what happens on offense, but the reality is we had some of that last year. Guys don't make shots, it's difficult for them on offense, all of a sudden they get frustrated, next thing you know, the other team goes on a run. We have some of it this year; it's human nature to get a little frustrated. We've tried to coach these guys through it. I think we're getting closer to having a really mentally tough team."

The Gators have six players in the rotation that can boast success against Alabama, as they largely have the same front court from their national title winning season. Oats emphasized the need to play sound on the defensive end throughout the contest, regardless of the results on the offensive end, ahead of the road trip. He reflected on last year's mental toughness and made it a clear point of emphasis in order to turn the tide against Golden's squad.

"I just last night was watching the SEC semifinal game against them, and in the second half, they just kind of broke us, and it was disappointing to watch it," Oats said. "It was a team I was responsible for, and I didn't do a good enough job of coaching them and getting them mentally tough enough. We've got to be a lot tougher this year, and hopefully we've come around that way with some mental toughness."