Why is Alabama basketball shooting better away from home?
Alabama basketball’s three-point shooting is in an odd place. On the road, the Crimson Tide has made 37.8% of its attempts so far during the 2024-25 season.
However, in the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum, UA has made only 29.8% of its home three-point shots. Even Nate Oats was a little confused by the disparity.
“I don’t have a great answer for that,” the Tide’s head coach told reporters Friday. “There’s some theories we’ve talked about a little bit. One of them may be, sometimes less is more. When we’re at home guys are able to get in the gym a bunch, they get their shooting time in the morning, they come back early before the game.
“We chart how much they do it, some of our guys are putting too many miles on their legs before a game starts at home. Some of our guys need to eliminate some of the shooting time in the afternoon and just get their legs up under them.”
On Saturday, Alabama will be back at home, facing Kentucky. The Crimson Tide beat the Wildcats in Lexington earlier this season.
Oats had a second theory for why the numbers were so much better on the road from deep.
“We know we’re going into a hostile environment, we know we’ve just gotta be tough as nails, and I’ve attributed this a lot, just lose yourself in the game” Oats said. “I think when you lose yourself in the game knowing it’s gonna be tough, you’re locked into defense, you’ve got to be making blue collar plays, I think sometimes the offense just takes care of itself when you’re focused on the right stuff.”
Alabama has been struggling on defense of late, giving up 110 points in Wednesday’s loss to Missouri. The Crimson Tide’s issues on the other end have made its offense even more important.
After making just 19% of its field goals last time it played at home, against Auburn, figuring out the Coleman Coliseum troubles will be huge against the No. 17 Kentucky.
“We’re gonna try to address both,” Oats said. “They need to get themselves to just lose themselves in the game and make sure we’re not overdoing the wear and tear on our bodies on gameday just because we have access to a gym.”
Alabama and Kentucky are scheduled to tip off at 5 p.m. CT Saturday in Tuscaloosa. The game will be aired on ESPN.