It'll be all hands on deck for Alabama in Friday night's Sweet 16 matchup against top-seeded Michigan in Chicago.
It'll take a complete effort, and Alabama's best performance of the season, to have a chance at pulling off the upset to get to the Elite Eight for the third straight season.
And while Alabama guards Labaron Philon and Latrell Wrightsell will be key, the Tide's most important player for the matchup against the Wolverines is neither one of them. In fact, it's a player who wasn't even on the court for the last 11 minutes of Alabama's 2nd Round win over Texas Tech.
Against an elite Michigan frontcourt, Alabama is going to need a huge performance from sophomore center Aiden Sherrell.
Not putting Sherrell back during the final 11 minutes against Texas Tech was a calculated move by Oats in a game that wasn't close.
"Could not risk an injury with him knowing we had Michigan looming out there," Oats said on 'Hey Coach' on Monday night. "Made sure we got him on the bench. He's the last guy we could afford an injury from with that front line of Michigan coming up."
Aiden Sherrell will be critical for Alabama vs. Michigan in the Sweet 16
Sherrell has blossomed as a sophomore for the Crimson Tide. He was a backup big man behind Cliff Omoruyi and Grant Nelson as a freshman, but has manned the middle for Alabama this year and developed into one of the top shot blockers in college basketball.
Sherrell is averaging 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game while hitting 54.8% of his shots and 33.3% of his three-pointers.
Despite one of Noah Williamson's best performances of the season against Texas Tech, Oats knows Alabama is going to need a fresh Sherrell to play 30+ minutes against an elite Michigan front line.
Sherrell will match up with 7-foot-3 Michigan center Aday Mara, and he'll have to hold his own - and avoid foul trouble - for the Crimson Tide to have a shot in this game.
If Sherrell gets in foul trouble or just can't handle that level of minutes, Alabama will have to rely on Williamson or play smaller, which could be a disaster against the Wolverines that have just pummelled teams in the paint all year long.
Sherrell's workload has ramped up throughout the season, and after only playing 17 minutes against Texas Tech, along with the five-day gap between games, he should be ready to go on Friday night.