TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Toward the end of his Wednesday post-practice press conference, Alabama head coach Nate Oats apologized to media members for being an hour later than scheduled.

However, he didn't extend that same courtesy to his players after the Crimson Tide's narrow 91-88 victory against Memphis on Tuesday.

"We got after it today," Oats said. "Sorry for being late today. Video went way longer than we usually do. Yesterday we gave them the day off so we had to clean up all of the Memphis stuff and there was a lot to clean up.

"We were not good on either side of the ball for large stretches of the game. Turnovers late in the game, they scored 13 points in the last 50 seconds we close the game. Give a lot of credit to Memphis, they expose some stuff that we didn't do well."

From the whopping 19 turnovers to allowing a 3-pointer in the dying seconds to make it a one-possession game, Oats said his team has to close games out better than what it has shown this season.

Alabama has played in three games this season where the margin of victory was five points or less. While the team sports a 3-0 record in those games, Oats understands the importance of winning those by shutting teams down not by turning it over in the dying seconds, especially with No. 15 Gonzaga coming to Birmingham.

"It was supposed to be a little shorter practice and sometimes things don't get done in the time you want to get done because it's not quite right," Oats said. "You gotta go longer and that's what happened. (We) played a kind of an end-game situation deal at the end. We get better at closing games. I mean it's a good chance this game ends up being a tight game."

Last season's matchup with the Bulldogs saw an 18-point Alabama lead dwindle down to just four with five minutes left in the game. The Crimson Tide rebounded with a 10-0 run over the next four minutes to put the game away, but this year's team hasn't shown that same level of gumption.

Regardless Alabama's mettle will be tested again when the two teams tip off at the BJCC Arena in Birmingham on Saturday.

The No. 15 Bulldogs sport an 8-3 record, picking up wins against No. 11 Baylor, No. 13 Kentucky and Michigan State. Led by reigning WCC Player of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Finalist, Drew Timme, Gonzaga will be Alabama's toughest offensive text it has seen this season.

According to the KenPom rankings, Gonzaga is fifth in the nation in offensive efficiency with a 117.1, thanks in large part to Timme averaging more than 20 points per game.

"It's going to be a good test for us and our guys are gonna have to be ready to go on Saturday."