Why Nate Oats Wasn't Worried About Alabama Duo's Slow Start Against Texas A&M

The Crimson Tide head coach shares the halftime message he gave to Aden Holloway and Labaron Philon Jr., as they combined for 29 second-half points.

Alabama guard Aden Holloway (2) in action against Texas A&M at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Wednesday, Feb 4, 2026. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball took down Texas A&M 100-97 at home on Wednesday night.

This was a much-needed win for the Crimson Tide, as UA became unranked earlier in the week for the first time since January 2024. Additionally, this was a victory over the top team in the SEC standings, which will hopefully be the key to turning the Tide around for the remainder of the season.

Alabama had six of its eight players who saw time on the floor on Wednesday score 10-plus points. And while the Crimson Tide's backcourt duo wasn't necessarily outliers as the leading scorers, Labaron Philon (17 points) and Aden Holloway (20) dominated in the second half.

Philon and Holloway, Alabama's top-2 points per game leaders this season, each tallied four points in the first half. They were a combined 2 of 8 from the field, including 0 of 5 from downtown. Holloway didn't even attempt his first shot until there was 5:40 remaining and Philon went down holding his leg with under a minute to go.

But Holloway and Philon proceeded to combine for 29 points in the second half. The rest of the Crimson Tide scored 25! So, what did Alabama head coach Nate Oats say to the duo at halftime?

"I didn't really say anything about scoring," Oats said during the postgame press conference. "We were not going to talk about scoring this game. We're going to talk about our effort, our toughness and our plan for each other. Our mudita, if you will.

"So, I just told them, we've got to get more stops. We've got to take away the threes. For those guys that maybe aren't known as shooters, we still got to close out, even if we're going to play off them a little more and they don't have the ball. Just keep focusing on getting stops and taking care of ball.

"And you know what, I think, when those guys focus on the right stuff, like they did tonight, they're maybe the best backcourt in the country. We need Holloway to keep playing like he did. He sure dug out some tough rebounds late in that game. So six rebounds, 20 points, four assists, that's a pretty good game by him."

Alabama's final field goal conversion was perhaps the most exciting one of the game, and that includes a halftime buzzer-beating three-pointer by Latrell Wrightsell Jr. With 22 seconds left, Holloway hit a circus shot under the basket to put UA up by four. It was the loudest that Coleman Coliseum had been all night, serving as the dagger against the Aggies.

"I've got to give credit to the guy guarding me," Holloway said after the game. "He was fouling me a few different times in that possession, but I was just trying to get the shot up because I knew the shot clock was going down. I knew we needed to just get on the rim, and we have a lot of guys that can get O-boards...and it happened to go in."

So, where does Alabama go from here after taking down the top team in the SEC?

"This program is not used to losing, and we just got to turn this thing around," Holloway said. "I feel like today was a great start, just showing how gritty we are, how bad we really want it and it's just time to turn things around."

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