Nate Oats Expects 'Mentally Tough' Aden Holloway to be Prepared to Face Neville Arena

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— The No. 1 vs. No. 2 basketball game between Auburn and Alabama on Feb. 15 had many surrounding storylines. One of the individual ones was former Auburn guard Aden Holloway, who transferred to Alabama after last season, facing his former team for the first time.

Saturday afternoon's rematch between the two (1:30 p.m. CT) will mark the sophomore's first appearance inside Auburn's Neville Arena since he was wearing a Tigers uniform.

"Their fans are very energetic, very emotional" Alabama head coach Nate Oats said of the atmosphere. That much is not solely dependent on what Holloway does or doesn't do in the game. The Tigers boast one of basketball's most imposing environments.

"I'm sure that they'll be rooting for Aden to have a bad game," Oats added. "He's gotta be mentally tough. He needs to go in there and play basketball... He needs to play tough, hard, physical, made the right plays, play smart. If he gets open shots, take them."

Holloway averages almost 12 points per game this season. In the Feb. 15 Iron Bowl of Basketball at Coleman Coliseum, he had 10 on 3-for-8 shooting across 16 minutes of action. One of the best perimeter shooters on the team and in the SEC, his three-point percentage is up by more than 10 points compared to last season (41.9 to 30.2).

He also has a better connection rate from beyond the arc on the road than at home; he's hit 44.6% of his three-point attempts on the road (13 games), compared to 40.2% in 17 home games. His overall percentage ranks fourth in the SEC.

"Him going back there, I'm sure their fans will be ready to see him," Oats said. "I think he's a pretty mentally tough kid. He'll be ready for the game."

No. 7 Alabama (23-7, 12-5 SEC) has already clinched a double bye in the SEC Tournament. The No. 1 Tigers (27-3, 15-2 SEC) officially locked up the regular-season conference title last weekend with a win over Kentucky and got a morale boost from the Crimson Tide's buzzer-beater loss against Tennessee.