The biggest game in college basketball will be played in Tuscaloosa on Saturday. Ahead of Alabama hosting Auburn in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle with the positions dictated by which poll a fan base prefers, the Crimson Tide faithful arrived at Coleman Coliseum early, some even camping out for a good spot on ESPN’s College Gameday program.

As UA fans waved signs poking fun of Auburn coach Bruce Pearl’s weight and the Tiger loss to Yale in last year’s NCAA Tournament, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats sat down with the Gameday crew on set. First question: What does Alabama need to do to win it all?

“Stop turning the ball over,” Oats said. “We’ve got too many turnovers. We’ve gotta stop turning the ball over, and we’ve gotta rebound it a little bit better.

“And then if our defense can get a little bit better – it’s been great at times. It hasn’t been great for a full 40 minutes yet. If we can get some defensive consistency over 40 minutes and stop turning the ball over and then rebound it a little bit better, we’ve got a chance to win it all.”

As the crowd cheered him on, Oats joked about taking fashion and coaching advice from his daughters. He discussed his approach to analytics in coaching and hit on a few key players for the Crimson Tide.

Oats also acknowledged how difficult the Tide’s upcoming schedule is, with no games against unranked teams remaining on the regular season slate.

“Which one of those is a gimme?” Oats said. “There’s no easy one. There’s a number in front of every one of them. Listen, obviously, this is a big game. We know that. That’s why all these people are here so early in the morning, why you’re here. But if you win this one and then drop another one, a loss is a loss in the SEC column. You’re trying to win the regular season.”

After facing the No. 1 Tigers, the Crimson Tide travels to Missouri before facing Kentucky. Home games against Missisippi State and Florida sandwich a trip to Tennessee, before Alabama closes the year at Auburn.

“We’re gonna be ready to go tonight,” Oats said. “We know that. But then we’ve gotta turn this thing around and be ready to go at Missouri. Turn around and be ready to go (vs.) Kentucky. It’s a gauntlet, but you’ve gotta come ready to go.

“I think that’s why our non-conference schedule has helped so much because we had a lot of good games in there. We had quite a stretch there, as well. Not quite like this, but pretty close. I think our guys are ready for it.”

Alabama and Auburn are scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. CT in Tuscaloosa. The game will be aired on ESPN.