Nate Oats is hoping for more rat poison from the national media for BYU ahead of Thursday night's Sweet 16 matchup for Alabama against the Cougars. Plenty of media members have predicted the Crimson Tide's downfall against the sharpshooting Cougars, citing Alabama's struggles defensively as a reason they should be on upset alert.
It would be a stretch to call this Alabama team elite defensively, but some of the narratives about this team being "soft" are as much of a stretch. Alabama enters the Sweet 16 with the 29th-ranked defense in the country, per KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency rating.
Alabama is coming off of one of its best defensive performances of the season in an 80-66 win over Saint Mary's. BYU will present a much stronger challenge. The Cougars are one of the best shooting teams in the country and since February 12th, they have the No. 1 offense in the country.
"I’d appreciate it if you guys put a lot more talk out there about how our defense isn’t good enough to win this game so that we can show our guys that nobody believes in them like last year," said Oats in his press conference on Wednesday.
Plenty of "experts" have called for the BYU upset. Some even think the Cougars are going to blow out the Crimson Tide.
There's no doubt that this game will present a lot of challenges for Alabama. The Crimson Tide will have to play well on both ends of the court in order to advance into the Elite Eight. The Cougars are one of the hottest teams in the country right now, having won 11 of their last 12 games.
But Alabama will not lack motivation in Newark. Plenty of doubters have emerged who don't believe the Tide is good enough to make the Final Four or even win this game. It's that motivation that is fueling the team, according to Mark Sears and Mo Dioubate:
"Just hearing all the big-time outlets saying, we’re soft, we’re this and that, it’s definitely internal motivation. And we’ve basically got a point that prove that we’re not soft, that we’re tough, and it’s just basically a point to prove on defense", said Sears.
"We’ve got a point to prove on defense. Being called soft, that’s something that you don’t want towards your team or your name," said Dioubate.
The story of this game is BYU's defense - not Alabama's
It's interesting that the focus has been on Alabama's defense heading into this game, and not BYU's. Because the Cougars are demonstrably worse on that end of the court than the Tide is. BYU ranks 72nd in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Alabama is just as high-powered as BYU on the offensive end. And, unlike BYU - and the popular narrative - the Crimson Tide is not nearly as reliant on three-point shooting. If shots aren't falling, Alabama has proven they can win by attacking the basket and dominating the paint.
BYU doesn't defend the three-point line well, which should lead to plenty of open looks for Alabama. But the Cougars are also sub-100 in two-point field goal percentage defense and will have a significant size disadvantage against Cliff Omoruyi and Grant Nelson down low.
If Alabama plays to its capabilities on both ends of the court, they will win. And the margin might be more signficant than most think.
All quotes in this story are via ASAP Sports.