Good News for Duke Blue Devils Basketball as They Defeat Nate Oats’ Team

Nate Oats addressed reporters Saturday night following Alabama’s season-ending loss to Duke in the Elite Eight.

After a dominant 113-point performance against BYU in the Sweet 16, the Crimson Tide struggled offensively against the Blue Devils, falling 85-65. Alabama shot just 8-of-32 from beyond the arc, a stark contrast to their previous outing.

Oats reflected on the disappointing result, especially coming so soon after one of Alabama’s best performances of the season.

“We obviously played two nights ago, and it’s tough to go from playing as well as we did to playing as poorly as we did in just 48 hours,” Oats said. “That’s how the NCAA Tournament works in a one-game elimination format. You play poorly, and you go home—that’s exactly what happened.”

Alabama’s offensive system relies on generating quality looks from beyond the arc and at the rim, but Duke effectively shut down both options. Freshman center Khaman Maluach played a key role in protecting the paint, making it difficult for the Crimson Tide to finish at the rim.

“You look at their starting lineup, and they’ve got Khaman Maluach with a 9’8” reach—he’s an elite rim protector,” Oats said. “When you have a shot-blocker like that, getting clean looks at the rim becomes difficult. We shot just 48 percent at the rim, making only 12 of 25 attempts. He made it tough for us all night.”

Beyond struggles at the rim and poor 3-point shooting, several other factors frustrated Oats in the loss.

“We still got some decent looks from three, but we just didn’t knock them down,” Oats added. “They shot 6-of-13 from three, while we went 8-of-32—just 25 percent. Can you beat Duke shooting like that? Maybe, if you do everything else at an elite level, but we didn’t. We struggled to finish in the paint, didn’t crash the offensive boards well enough, and turned the ball over too much. We had three turnovers before the first media timeout, putting us in a hole right from the start.”

With Alabama’s season now over, Oats and his staff will shift their focus to rebuilding the roster for next year. The Crimson Tide has made at least the Sweet 16 for three consecutive seasons, and they’ll look to extend that streak in 2025.