"Would've been easy for us to fold": Nate Oats praises Alabama squad's competitive fire following monumental win vs Auburn

Alabama coach Nate Oats praised his team’s relentless competitive fire following a dramatic 93-91 overtime victory against No. 1 Auburn on Saturday. Every meeting between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, dating back to 1893, delivers fireworks, and this latest chapter was no exception when the game took place at Neville Arena, Auburn.

The edge-of-seat thriller saw the Crimson Tide lead in the first half, finishing 45-42 during the half-time break. With a bit of back-and-forth in the second half, the game went into overtime and Mark Sears sank a buzzer-beating floater to seal the win.

Nate Oats joined the Field Of 68: After Dark podcast after the win and spoke on the resilience his team showed down the stretch, saying:

"There's nobody that's even played close to the seven games we've had to play to close the year out, and the way we lost to Tennessee would've been easy to fold."

Despite adversity, losing and regaining the lead, battling turnovers, and conceding a game-tying three-pointer late, coach Oats believes Alabama proved they were the tougher, more connected team when it mattered most. During the postgame presser, Nate Oats said:

"To come up with a win against the No. 1 team on their home floor who happens to be our arch-rival to close it out after the adversity we faced. We could have easily folded. We had the tough loss at Tennessee. The Florida game we didn’t look great. We bounced back and come in here like we did."

"I just kind of challenged these guys, ‘Let’s be the hardest-playing team, toughest team, most together no matter what happens."

Alabama edged past Auburn in a thrilling overtime battle, with a 24-7 away record. Alabama outlasted Auburn (27-4 at home) in a back-and-forth contest.

"We went against them on their senior night, and I think we showed what we're capable of being moving forward," Oats said.

With the victory, Alabama (24-7, 13-5) remains in the hunt for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Nate Oats' Alabama’s thrilling overtime win heroes

After struggling in his previous seven games, Grant Nelson broke through with a statement performance, setting the tone early with aggressive drives to the rim while matching Auburn’s Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford shot for shot.

Though Auburn adjusted in the second half, Nelson stayed dominant, racking up 15 points by halftime and finishing with a team-high 23. He also tied for the team lead in rebounds (eight) and blocks (one).

Alabama Crimson Tide forward Grant Nelson - Source: Imagn

While Nelson led the charge, center Clifford Omoruyi was just as impactful, scoring 15 points on a perfect 7-for-7 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds. Freshman Aiden Sherrell provided key minutes off the bench, adding eight points and seven boards.

With the game in overtime, Nate Oats' squad needed a hero. Mark Sears delivered, sinking a clutch buzzer-beating floater to seal the win. Though he had just seven points before that moment, Sears led the team with seven assists and committed only one turnover.