Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats got a souvenir he didn’t ask for following his team’s 96-92 win against SEC rivals Auburn Tigers on Saturday at Neville Arena in Auburn, Ala.
As Oats was exiting the court, someone in the stands threw an object at him, likely an Auburn shirt.
The Alabama mentor did not seem rattled by the incident, as he appeared to have anticipated it. Oats had his hands up, ready to catch the shirt, though he dropped it before picking it up. He then raised the shirt over his head, as if the garment was among his victorious team’s spoils.
Here is the video of that moment.
Someone throws a shirt at Nate Oats as he comes off the court pic.twitter.com/FdnaFzzAeo
— Katie Windham (@katiewindham_) February 7, 2026
The 51-year-old Oats and the Crimson Tide still had the last laugh, leaning on a strong second half to repulse Auburn.
Alabama trailed the Tigers by four points at the half before putting together runs of 11-0 and 8-0 in the final 20 minutes of the contest to sway the momentum in their direction.
Sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr. scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, while freshman forward Amari Allen stuffed the stat sheets with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists for Alabama, which improved to 6-7 overall and 6-4 in SEC play.
