Four weeks after the Tide scraped together an 11-point win to open its SEC schedule in Starkville, Alabama and Mississippi State have gone in different directions.
Alabama has won eight games in a row and is ranked No. 2 in the nation. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 21 in the AP poll for that Dec. 28 meeting, have lost five of their past six games.
You would not be able to tell, though, listening to Tide coach Nate Oats in advance of the two teams’ rematch Wednesday night in Coleman Coliseum.
“They worry me a little bit,” Nate Oats said Monday night on his “Hey Coach” radio show. “They played us pretty tough at their place for a large stretch of that game. ... We’ve got to come in, get our guys’ minds right, make sure they’re ready to go. Play with some toughness.”
Even as Alabama has ascended to receiving first-place votes in both major polls this week, Oats has raised the alarm the past two weeks about slipping rebounding numbers. The Tide ranked first the nation in rebounding margin early in the season but is now 12th nationally. During SEC play, Alabama is ranked fifth in the conference.
“We’ve got to show a little bit more physicality,” Oats said. “I thought we should have done a better job on the glass against Missouri. Missouri is not a very good rebounding team. I didn’t think we dominated them like we should. This [Mississippi State] team is a really good rebounding team.”
Alabama out-rebounded Missouri, 53-45, during 85-64 win Saturday. The Tigers are ranked last in the SEC in rebounding margin for conference games, while Mississippi State is 10th.
“They’re one of the best rebounding teams in the country,” Oats said of MSU. “They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country.”
Offense has been the issue for the Bulldogs, who missed half of their 36 free throws against Alabama earlier this season. That included forward Tolu Smith shooting only 3-of-15 from the line and 1-of-7 from the field.
“I don’t think we can count of them shooting free throws as poorly as they did the last time,” Oats said. “So we’ve got to be better.”
Alabama (17-2) enters Wednesday night’s 8 p.m. CT tip off with a chance to improve upon its best start since 1976-77, when it began 19-2.
“Last time we played here, we had a good crowd,” Oats said Tuesday of a Jan. 14 win over LSU. “I expect a great crowd again.”
Alabama’s next three SEC opponents -- Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and LSU -- are a combined 5-15 in conference games and have all lost to the Tide already this season. But Oats is stressing caution as his team traverses the bottom half of its league.
“I think they’re playing pretty well, so we’ve got our hands full tomorrow,” he said.
Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.