'No Weaknesses': Nate Oats Breaks Down Undefeated Vanderbilt

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama men's basketball head coach Nate Oats has said for years that the reason he creates such a difficult nonconference schedule is so his team is more prepared for the daunting SEC teams.

The Crimson Tide's three losses this season have come against the current No. 1, No. 5 and No. 8 teams in the AP Top 25. Top-ranked Arizona is still undefeated, as it's one of six schools that have yet to lose. Another member of that elite club is No. 11 Vanderbilt — No. 13 Alabama's opponent tonight.

Oats mentioned that the Commodores "haven't had very many tight games" due to their strength of schedule being ranked No. 81 compared to the Tide being No. 1. However, Vanderbilt's blowouts are justified and a 14-0 start is threatening. Oats shared a couple of Commodores who have enabled the program's best start since 2007-08, including a 6-foot-8 forward handling a responsibility that was assigned to a former Alabama standout and current member of the Brooklyn Nets.

"I still think [Devin McGlockton] starts at the five," Oats said on Tuesday. "They play their four and five on the perimeter a lot, like us, but then they will play him with [Jalen] Washington. Jalen [Washington] doesn't start, but when they bring him in and leave McGlockton in, and they play McGlockton more like the four with Washington at the five.

"Kind of similar to how we did it with [Noah] Clowney, where we started him at the four, and then the other way, we bumped him to the five when Charles [Bediako] went to the bench. But he's good. He's definitely a focus, because if you don't guard him the right way, he's capable of making threes. He's tough, he's physical, he rebounds."

McGlockton tallied 10 points and 14 rebounds (five offensive) during last year's game against Alabama. The Crimson Tide won 103-78 in that meeting, but Vanderbilt outscored UA in the second half. All-SEC guard Jason Edwards stepped up, but he's not in Nashville anymore.

Former Oklahoma guard Duke Miles replaced Edwards this season, and in 12 games, he leads the Commodores in points per game (17.1) and has the most steals per game in the conference (2.8). But the backcourt doesn't end there, as sophomore Tyler Tanner is averaging 16.2 points, 5.5 assists and 2.5 steals.

"If you go to KenPom right now, two of their players, Tanner and Miles, are both in the top-5 for Player of the Year in the conference," Oats said. "Now, some of that goes because they're winning and they're picked to win the league on [KenPom] right now. And winning matters. So you end up winning the league, it's likelihood of one of their guys being Player of the Year in the conference is high.

"This team's good. There's no weaknesses. The guards move the ball, they shoot it, they attack the paint, they've got a good system, they know how to play in ball screens. ... But we haven't put our total focus on any one guy, because they've got a lot of really good players."

Oats went a little more in-depth regarding Vanderbilt's dangerous backcourt, as Tanner is coming off an unbelievable performance.

"Well, Tyler just had 14 assists," Oats said. "He gets in the paint. What do you do with him in ball screens? You blitz him, well, he'll [pass it well]. If you've been aggressive with him, he drains it pretty well. If you do not blitz him, he gets in the paint and he scores. Do you drop him? Well, the big shoe.

"He, combined with their spacing, their system [works very well] because coach Byington is good. There's a reason he's won everywhere he's been. He's really good and he's doing a great job now. So, Tanner is good, willing to move it, can shoot it at a high level, can get in the paint and is elite in ball screens.

"Miles has been great playing off the ball, shooting it, making good plays with the ball as well. They're good. It's not a whole lot of weaknesses. There's not many holes with them. So, the two of those guys both shoot it well. They can both make plays. They're unselfish. They pass it. They get in the paint and make plays. So you can't just say, 'Oh, he's just a shooter,' 'he's just a passer.' No, they both do everything."

After taking down Kentucky on Jan. 3, Oats is putting a ton of value on this matchup, with hopes of spoiling Byington's remarkable accomplishments to start 2025-26.

"We're competing for [an SEC Championship] this year," Oats said during the Kentucky postgame press conference. "Getting a win on the road against the best team in our league, at least in the analytics, would go a long way to winning a championship on Wednesday."

'No Weaknesses': Nate Oats Breaks Down Undefeated Vanderbilt

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