Why Alabama Basketball's Practice Ran Long Ahead of Vanderbilt Matchup

Nate Oats does not want a repeat of last week's loss to Ole Miss.

Nate Oats at practice | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Go watch any Nate Oats press conference since the end of Alabama's loss to Ole Miss last week, or his pregame speech to the team in the hype video released by Alabama from the win at Kentucky, and Oats' frustration and disappointment with his team's performance against the Rebels is evident.

Saturday was a big win for Alabama over a ranked Kentucky team, but Oats wants to make sure his team doesn't forget what happened in the home loss to Ole Miss. That's why Oats showed up later than scheduled for his Monday press conference, and why Monday's practice ran long.

"Trying to make sure there's not a repeat of last week, so we're going to do it over again until we get it right," Oats said. "Took a few drills longer a few minutes longer than planned because I told them last week on my end, I'm going to hold them more accountable, and I think they're seeing that I'm serious about it. So, I thought the defensive effort in practice picked up because we're not having a repeat of what we had last week."

In the 74-64 home loss to the Rebels on Jan. 14, Alabama scored a season low and turned it over 21 times, which led to 19 points off turnovers and helped contribute to 16 fast break points. The Crimson Tide also came out with low energy at the start of both halves.

Vanderbilt (15-3, 3-2 SEC) is coming off a big upset win over then No. 6 Tennessee and plays similarly to Ole Miss in one key stat: forced turnovers. The Commodores are top-15 in the nation at forcing turnovers with 16+ per game and lead the country in points per game off turnovers.

If Alabaman (15-3, 4-1 SEC) comes out sloppy and lazy against Vanderbilt, it could be an issue for the Crimson Tide. That's why Oats made sure his team ran drills the right way at practice ahead of Tuesday's matchup with the Commodores.

"You'll see a lot better effort," Oats said. "The group starting the game out talked about it as a team before–– the leadership, some accountability and then we've got to develop the right habits.... I would think that we've got our guys attention."

See also: Alabama Coach Nate Oats Updates Status of Derrion Reid for Vanderbilt Game

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