Alabama head coach Nate Oats became the winningest head coach against AP Top 25 opponents in program history with the team’s 96-83 victory over No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday.
The win was Oats’ 26th victory against an AP Top 25 opponent in his time at Alabama, surpassing the previous program record of 25 wins held by former head coach Winfrey “Wimp” Sanderson. It came following two tough losses to in-state rival No. 1 Auburn and No. 15 Missouri.
Oats impressively accomplished this feat in less than half as many seasons as Sanderson, with Oats in his sixth season in Tuscaloosa compared to Sanderson’s 12 seasons at the helm.
“I think it does speak to the level of the SEC as a whole that now we’ve got all of these opportunities,” Oats said about breaking the record. “I’m guessing that Wimp didn’t have that many opportunities like we have, but you’ve also got to go win them.”
Saturday’s win helped keep Alabama’s slim SEC regular-season championship hopes alive. The Crimson Tide does not control its destiny in the SEC and will need help to clinch a share or an outright win of the conference.
The win was also Oats’ 139th in his tenure at Alabama and was crucial for the team, which has four tough tests remaining on the schedule: No. 21 Mississippi State, at No. 6 Tennessee, No. 2 Florida and at No. 1 Auburn.
“Without calling it a must-win, I mean, we can’t drop three in a row,” Oats said. “We needed this one tonight.”
Alabama’s defense responded well after a rough performance on Wednesday at Missouri, allowing Kentucky to shoot just 42.6% from the field and 34.6% from 3, compared to the 60.1% and 39.1% Missouri shot Wednesday.
“I think Alabama is a terrific defensive team,” Kentucky head coach Mark Pope said.
Alabama will continue SEC play on Tuesday when it hosts No. 21 Mississippi State at Coleman Coliseum. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT and can be watched on ESPN2.
