Nate Oats said he enjoyed his ‘chess match’ against Mark Pope in their first head-to-head battle at Rupp Arena back in January, two of the best offensive minds in college basketball leading their programs to a combined 199 points in the 102-97 win for Alabama.

Alabama basketball’s win over No. 17 Kentucky on Saturday came with a cherry on top for Nate Oats. He scored his 26th win over an AP top 25 team throughout his tenure as head coach at Alabama, taking sole possession of UA’s record in that department. Oats passed Wimp Sanderson, who had 25.

Nate Oats turned to his Alabama bench quicker than expected and explained why after beating Kentucky on Saturday.