The Alabama basketball team is set to take on the UConn Huskies in the semifinal game on Saturday, and Alabama head coach Nate Oats outlined UConn’s style of play as well as what his team will try to do strategically to pull off an upset.
“UConn will run on you in transition but if they don’t have a transition bucket, they have no problem milking it,” Nate Oats said on Green Light with Chris Long. “And their sets. They run very elaborate, very high-level sets that take a lot of time. So like if you look, their pace numbers look slow, but they’re elite in transition. It’s just when they get in half-court their sets take a long time”
Oats said although UConn is not a slow team, they will try to speed the game up more than the Huskies will likely want.
“They’re hard to guard,” Oats said on Green Light with Chris Long. “You got to get back in transition and then you got to guard a bunch of really good (players). that’s why they’re the best team in the country right now. So this game’s not going to be you know at the Kentucky level where we’re both trying to fly up and down and shoot quick. We’re going to try to make the pace a little faster, UConn will probably try to slow it down a little but they still will run on you in transition.”
UConn presents a tough test for the Alabama basketball team, as it does for pretty much anyone in the country. The Huskies are coming off a 77-52 win over the East region’s No. 3 seed, Illinois. That game included a 30-0 UConn run that spanned from the late first half to the second half.
How can Alabama beat UConn?
The Huskies do not have many weaknesses. They are 35-3 overall this season, are the No. 1 team on Kenpom, have the No. 1 offense by adjusted offensive efficiency and the No. 4 defense by adjusted defensive efficiency. There is not one glaring weakness with UConn.
In comparison, Alabama is the No. 12 team on Kenpom, has the No. 3 adjusted offensive efficiency ranking, but is 105 in adjusted defensive efficiency. The formula for the Crimson Tide is likely to win a high-scoring game. Based on the numbers, UConn should be able to score.
The way for Alabama to make it a high-scoring game is to push the pace, as Oats said. The Crimson Tide will also likely try to shoot and make a lot of three-pointers.
If Alabama is able to do that, it will likely require UConn to not shoot very well from the outside as well, which has happened a few times this tournament. It has not been a problem for the Huskies to this point, as Donovan Clingan has been a force.
UConn has won 10-straight tournament games by 13 or more points, going back to last year’s tournament run. It will take a lot to go right for Alabama to get a win on Saturday, but it is the NCAA Tournament. Anything can happen.
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