Nate Oats has changed so much about the fortunes of the Alabama basketball program it is tempting to claim he has changed everything. The extent of 'almost' everything can change in the 2026-27 season. If Alabama makes the NCAA Tournament next season, it will be the seventh consecutive trip under Nate Oats.
The current record string of Big Dance appearances is held by Wimp Sanderson. Oats will tie Wimp this season.
Going back to the tenure of Wimp's successor, David Hobbs, Feburary for Alabama basketball fans was often disappointing. The exception was a five-season NCAA Tournament run by Mark Gottfried. Otherwise, Alabama was usually either sweating the NCAA Tournament bubble or well below the bubble. February fades were too common.
The first Alabama Crimson Tide February for Nate Oats repeated the pattern. Since then, the average number of February losses has been two. In the six Alabama Crimson Tide seasons before Nate Oats, February losses averaged 4.3.
A payoff for Crimson Tide roundball fans has been March fun. In the six seasons before Oats, Alabama played an average of 3.2 postseason games. Over the last five seasons, the average has been 5.6 games. The success during Alabama's postseason competition has been more impressive. During the 2014-2019 seasons, the Crimson Tide averaged 1.3 postseason wins. In the 2021-2025 seasons, Nate Oats has led the Crimson Tide to an average of 4.5 postseason wins.
Alabama Basketball Postseason Success
Success under Nate Oats has become the new norm for the Alabama Crimson Tide. One more stat best explains what Alabama basketball has become because of Nate Oats. In the 2020s 2021-2025) NCAA Tournaments, the Crimson Tide has more Big Dance wins than any other SEC team and is No. 5 among all Division One teams. More than Alabama's 11 wins are No. 1 Houston at 16, UConn at 13, Gonzaga at 13, and Duke at 12. Arkansas has 10, Tennessee nine, Florida seven, and Auburn six Big Dance wins.
Alabama Crimson Tide fans have good reason to anticipate another fun March this season.
Note: Date sources provided by Sports Reference and Ken Pomeroy