TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Nate Oats was not pleased about Alabama’s defensive output in the second half of its 103-87 win over Vanderbilt on Tuesday. After the game, guard Mark Sears said the team was given a maturity test one week after it suffered its first defeat in Southeastern Conference play to Ole Miss.

Oats assessed the Tide a C- on that test against Vanderbilt after the Tide put in a strong performance defensively in the first half, but floundered in the second. Alabama allowed the Commodores to hit 11 of 17 3-pointers and average 1.3 points per possession in the second half after averaging just 0.86 in the opening 20 minutes.

Alabama (16-3, 5-1 SEC) has scored over 100 points in its last two games since losing to Ole Miss. The offense has clicked on all cylinders, which is a good sign for the Tide going forward as it now sits alone in second place in the SEC standings.

The Tide faces LSU on Saturday. The Tigers (12-6, 1-4) don’t look as formidable on paper, coming in with the No. 102 offense according to KenPom.com. But the Ole Miss loss is keeping Oats honed in on preventing the Tide from underestimating an SEC opponent.

“We’ve done the deal where we’ve overlooked a team a little bit,” Oats told reporters Friday. “Now, Ole Miss – I have no idea why we overlooked them. They were undefeated at the time we played them, but I think we did. So, we’re gonna have to see how mature we are to see what kind of effort we bring for the entire 40 minutes tomorrow and that’s what I’m most curious to see.”

In Oats’ eyes, Alabama can’t play hard for 40 minutes if it doesn’t practice with the same kind of intensity in the days leading up to the game. That’s why practice ran long Monday ahead of the Vanderbilt matchup, and the Tide was able to avoid a repeat of the Ole Miss game and take down the Commodores.

Alabama typically goes lighter the day before a game to keep players fresh. It’s a different story on Thursdays, however, with the team able to practice longer and with more intensity without having to worry about a game the next day. While Oats has continued to make sure his team doesn’t get complacent, he liked what he saw on the floor during Thursday’s practice.

“I thought it was one of our better practices we’ve had all year from everybody,” Oats said. “I thought — [Chris Youngblood] is gonna go hard that’s who he is. I thought Sears went really hard in practice. I thought some of our young guys — CY and [Mouhamed Dioubate] were going at in practice pretty good. I didn’t think anybody had a bad practice.”

Oats said he’s yet to see a complete 40 minutes of defense from his side this season. Alabama is much improved in that area from a year ago, currently ranking No. 45 in adjusted defensive efficiency according to KenPom.com. First-year assistant Brian Adams has led the defense this season and his impact can be seen in the team’s organization thus far.

The key moving forward for Alabama is sustaining its defensive presence, especially when it gets a big lead. The Tide has gotten complacent in games before, which has allowed its opponents to trim away at leads. Against Vanderbilt, defensive miscommunication led to a barrage of 3s and the Commodores cut Alabama’s lead to just eight points with 2:54 remaining.

Preventing those kinds of lapses starts in the practice gym. And Oats' assessment of Thursday’s practice is a promising sign that his players are getting the message that sustained intensity in practice will lead to better results in games. His message was supported as Alabama road its first-half domination to a win Thursday. Now Oats wants to see his side take it one step further on the defensive end.

“Day before a game we go a little shorter, little lighter, make sure they’re fresh for the game tomorrow but I thought there was still some good intensity,” Oats said. “But I thought Thursday’s practice was one of the better ones we’ve had all year. So if we can come out and play for 40 minutes like we practiced for the entire time on Thursday I think we’ll be in good shape tomorrow.”

Alabama faces LSU at 7:30 p.m. CT Saturday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.