The Crimson Tide faces it first test against a ranked opponent of the season in one of the elite tournaments in college basketball. Just a decade ago, Nate Oats was a high school math teacher and basketball coach going to camps at Michigan State led by Spartan head coach Tom Izzo. Now, the two will face off in the opening round of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon Thanksgiving night. Check out BamaCentral’s preview of the invitational here to get information on all eight teams in the tournament. No. 18 Alabama (4-0) against No. 12 Michigan State (3-1) is…