Alabama basketball has a quick turnaround from a win over Tennessee on Saturday that Nate Oats called "emotionally taxing." The Crimson Tide will turn around and travel to Athens to face Georgia on Tuesday night, just 72 hours removed from a thrilling comeback win in Knoxville.
Oats spent his Monday press conference practically begging his team to show the maturity to not allow Georgia to serve as a trap game.
The Bulldogs are close to a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, but could effectively end any lingering doubts about their at-large hopes by knocking off the Crimson Tide at home.
Alabama, winners of eight straight games, is looking to clinch the 2-seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Nashville, while pushing toward an NCAA Tournament 3-seed.
"Obviously, the win Saturday was pretty emotionally taxing ... so I think the biggest job here is to get the guys' minds right and focused in," Oats said. "We've still got a lot to play for with these two games left.
"For an immature team, this could definitely be a trap game. I hope we're showing some maturity."
Alabama looking to avoid a trap game against Georgia
It would be easy for Alabama to take this game for granted after the emotional win in Knoxville to snap a five-game losing streak to Tennessee. That it is the game before the Crimson Tide looks to earn a regular-season sweep over hated rival Auburn only serves to further distract Alabama from the task at hand.
That's why Oats was sounding the alarm the day before the game. It's a message to his team to get their minds right before making the trek over to Athens.
If Alabama overlooks Georgia - a silly thing to do against a projected NCAA Tournament team - then the Bulldogs will make them pay for it. KenPom views this matchup as effectively a toss-up, projecting Alabama to escape with a 92-91 win with a 55% implied win probability.
Oats mentioned that Tennessee was one of Alabama's three biggest wins of the season, with the other two coming in the non-conference against St. John's and Illinois. He made sure to point out that Alabama followed up both of those wins with losses.
After beating St. John's at Madison Square Garden, Alabama came back home and lost to Purdue on its home floor.
After knocking off Illinois in Chicago, the Crimson Tide followed that up with a loss to Gonzaga in Las Vegas.
While Georgia is not of the quality of either Purdue or Gonzaga, the Bulldogs are certainly good enough to beat the Crimson Tide on their home floor, especially if Alabama can't re-focus before it takes the court.
This will be the ultimate maturity test for Alabama - and could have major repercussions on the remainder of the season.