Relax, Nate Oats essentially said Monday.

There’s no reason to overreact to the 24-point mauling his Alabama basketball team took Saturday at Oklahoma.

“There’s no reason to panic,” he said a day before the Crimson Tide return to the floor against Vanderbilt. “I mean, it’s basketball. There are 31 games.”

That said, there’s a renovation underway after then-No. 2 Alabama (18-3, 8-0 SEC) saw its nine-game winning streak vaporized against an unranked opponent. Instead of taking Sunday off, they went live for a little while in practice that evening in the search to regain the edge missing in Norman.

Having Vanderbilt (10-11, 3-5 SEC) up at 7:30 p.m. CT Tuesday in Coleman Coliseum is more a blessing of timing, Oats said. They’d rather get right back on the horse that kicked them three days earlier, leaving a 93-69 bruise from the Sooners.

Effort was the biggest issue as Oklahoma led by as many as 32, a stunning turn of events given Alabama was a strong road favorite. The result might have been less of a surprise internally as Oats said he’s seen this team’s been off for a few weeks.

So, was the non-conference thumping what this team needed?

“I think we played poorly and got away with it before that,” Oats said. “Teams missed shots against us or sometimes missed free throws. This was a game where Oklahoma was locked in and they needed a win bad.”

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Alabama, meanwhile, had no fire in their collective belly for the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

“So yeah, if you’re not going to play with a sense of urgency and you’re not going to play hard, you need to lose the game,” Oats said. “The point has to be made, you can’t get away with doing that.”

More simply: “We needed a wakeup call,” Oats concluded.

The effort looked a lot like Alabama’s 100-90 loss to Gonzaga that inspired the nine-game winning streak halted Saturday. The response to that lackluster performance was obviously positive and Oats said he likes what he’s seen Sunday and Monday.

Star freshman Brandon Miller said the message from coaches about regaining the mental edge was delivered.

“I feel like all of their messages are important,” he said. “I feel like everyone should listen to their coaches because they know literally everything.”

A teammate also brought an important message related to the Oklahoma loss. Jahvon Quinerly is the only remaining player from the 2020-21 team that won the SEC and made the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. That group, he told the locker room, also lost at Oklahoma in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge before going on a run. They closed the regular season winning seven of the final nine games before sweeping the SEC tournament for its first title in 30 years.

“That team in ‘21 made it happen,” Oats said. “We took that loss and guys regrouped, we had to play harder. Things don’t change unless you make them change.”

Vanderbilt has lost five of its last seven after winning three straight at the end of December and to open SEC play in January. Alabama handed the Commodores a 78-66 loss in Nashville back on Jan. 17 in the first game without leading scorer and rebounder Liam Robbins who is out with a sprained ankle.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.