No. 4 Alabama has lost back-to-back games by nine and 12 points. In those losses to No. 1 Auburn and No. 15 Missouri, the Crimson Tide fell into early 9-0 and 12-0 holes, respectively. Nate Oats knows Alabama needs to have better starts to games.

Oats said he'd spoken to a longtime friend in the NBA who told him it's all down to getting back to fundamentals, including improvement in guarding one-on-one, boxing out, sprinting back and communicating. He added that leadership on that starts from the top down, including himself.

Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats had an angry outburst in the Crimson Tide’s tough road loss to No. 15 Missouri. For much of Wednesday night, the No. 4 team in the country looked like it was still having a hangover from the heartbreaking home loss to No.