LOS ANGELES — Nate Oats once took the University at Buffalo men's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament three times in four years.
Now he's taking Alabama to the Final Four. The former Bulls head coach punched his ticket Saturday night, when the No. 4-seeded Crimson Tide beat 6-seeded Clemson 89-82 in the Elite Eight.
Oats spent four seasons in Buffalo, going 96–43 (.691) overall and 52–20 (.722) in the Mid-American Conference.
That run was highlighted by three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bulls lost in the first round in 2016, his first season. After missing the cut in his second year, going 17-15, Oats then led Buffalo to the second round in the 2018 and 2019 tournaments.
After that, Oats bolted Buffalo for 'Bama, going 117–53 (.688) overall and 62–28 (.689) in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide had Sweet 16 appearances in 2021 and 2023 before breaking through the Final Four this weekend.
This will be Alabama's first trip to the Final Four in program history.
Alabama's reward is a national semifinal against the reigning NCAA champions, Connecticut. Top-seeded UConn has won 10 straight games NCAA Tournament by double digits, which is a March Madness record.
In fact, the Huskies used a 30-0 run against No. 3 seed Illinois to quickly pull away for a 77-52 victory in the Elite Eight. They will likely be a heavy favorite to repeat as NCAA Tournament champs, something that has not been done since the Florida Gators went back-to-back in 2006 and 2007 with a group that quickly graduated to the NBA.
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