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Don't blame Alabama's Nate Oats for stoppages, blame NCAA | Goodbread

January 11, 2026

Story byThe Tuscaloosa NewsChase Goodbread, Tuscaloosa NewsSun, January 11, 2026 at 5:15 AM UTC·3 min readBuried in NCAA. org archives is a six-month-old headline that would be quite the head-scratcher for consumers of Alabama basketball's 92-88 loss to Texas on Saturday, Jan. 10, at Coleman Coliseum:Panel approves changes to enhance the flow of the game in men’s basketballAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt's a standard release from the governing body of college sports, dated June 10, 2025, that highlighted a few rules changes that can impact game pace. Among them were guidelines on video challenges, but what it doesn't address is coaches' appeals − which are different from challenges − and anyone who took in the Crimson Tide's loss to the Longhorns probably wishes it would have. BOOK POWER: What book did Alabama basketball's Nate Oats give Latrell Wrightsell?HIGHLIGHTS: Can Alabama basketball bounce back vs Texas?

Don't blame Alabama's Nate Oats for stoppages, blame NCAA | Goodbread

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Score updates, highlightsUA coach Nate Oats stopped play repeatedly with appeals throughout the game − he won most, but not all − creating multiple delays that contributed to the game dragging on for 2 hours and 38 minutes.
Texas coach Sean Miller added to the appeal total, as well.
To be clear, this is no criticism of Oats.
He's paid to win games, not get people home faster or speed up a television broadcast. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd if Oats thinks there's an edge of any kind to be gained by a stoppage of play, it's his job to halt the action.
Texas led practically the entire game − UA's last lead was 15-13 − and Oats did what had to be done to help Alabama keep it close. The criticism here is that NCAA rules permit unlimited appeals (not so with video challenges), which opens the door for the length of games to be unlimited, as well.

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Don't blame Alabama's Nate Oats for stoppages, blame NCAA | Goodbread

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Don't blame Alabama's Nate Oats for stoppages, blame NCAA | Goodbread

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