"They finna come out on top": College hoops fans react to Nate Oats' Alabama squad's tough end of season schedule before March Madness 

Nate Oats’ Alabama is gearing up for one of the most challenging stretches of the season, as highlighted in their grueling end-of-season schedule. With matchups against powerhouse teams like Arkansas, Texas, and Auburn amongst others, fans were buzzing with reactions on social media. In an Instagram post on Monday, Bleacher Report Hoops featured Alabama’s fixture schedule heading into March.

Fans were quick to react to the post in the comment section.

“They finna come out on top,” a fan commented.

A college hoops fan reacts to Instagram post about Nate Oats' Alabama squad tough end of season schedule - Image source: Instagram/br_hoops

“SEC is nothing to play with,” another fan commented.

Another college hoops fan reacts to Instagram post about Nate Oats' Alabama squad tough end of season schedule - Image source: Instagram/br_hoops

Other fans were in the comment section with various opinions on the difficulty of the schedule.

College hoops fans react to Nate Oats' Alabama squad's tough end of season schedule before March Madness - Image source: Instagram/br_hoops

The Crimson Tide’s schedule features back-to-back battles against top-25 teams, starting with a Feb. 8 clash against Arkansas. From there, Alabama will face Texas, No. 1-ranked Auburn, and No. 20-ranked Missouri, all within just two weeks.

The intensity doesn’t stop, as they continue against No. 12-ranked Kentucky, No. 14-ranked Mississippi State, and No. 8-ranked Tennessee before wrapping up with games against No. 5-ranked Florida and another showdown with No. 1-ranked Auburn on March 8.

Alabama’s turnovers remain a concern for Nate Oats

After a dominant 90-69 win over Georgia on Saturday, Alabama’s coach, Nate Oats highlighted turnovers as a significant issue that could hinder the Crimson Tide’s success.

“We’ve got to fix the turnovers,” Oats said. “It’s a major problem.”

Turnovers are not new for Alabama. The Crimson Tide ranks No. 176 nationally in turnover percentage. Saturday’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs marked their second 20-plus turnover performance this season, the first being against Ole Miss.

Oats pointed out that 12 of the 20 turnovers against Georgia came from experienced players, including Sears, Grant Nelson, and Chris Youngblood.

“I hope those guys are mature enough to understand you can learn just as much off a win as you can off a loss,” Oats said, expressing confidence that his veterans can lead the effort to address this issue.

Despite the turnover problem, Oats praised Sears for his resilience after mistakes, noting his defensive hustle and leadership.

“His effort really helped set the tone for how the team’s supposed to look,” Oats said.

Alabama has a record of 19-3 overall and 8-1 in conference play, ranked No. 4 nationally. Alabama’s offense is ranked No. 2 in adjusted efficiency per KenPom. Freshman Aiden Sherrell contributed 12 points and seven rebounds against Georgia, while Mark Sears delivered another 20-point performance, showing a resurgence after being benched against LSU.

However, turnovers remain a glaring problem, with Alabama recording 20 against Georgia compared to just six by the Bulldogs. Oats planned to dedicate practices to finding solutions, knowing that Alabama’s potential hinges on eliminating costly giveaways. Having won 13 of their last 14 games, Alabama is in a strong position heading into the latter half of SEC play.