Following Alabama‘s March Madness elimination against the Duke Blue Devils, head coach Nate Oats was named as a candidate for the Maryland Terrapins‘ vacant position. According to recent reports, the coach in Alabama has taken a decisive stance about his future.
The Crimson Tide failed to move on in the NCAA Tournament, as they came up against the No.1 Blue Devils, who blew them out of the water with a commanding 85-65 triumph at Prudential Center in Newark.
After the harsh loss, which dashed Alabama’s hopes of reaching the Final Four for the second straight year, a potential landing spot opened up for Oats as Maryland saw former head coach Kevin Willard sign with Villanova.
However, rumors of Oats’ departure were merely social media noise rather than a reflection of genuine interest in leading the Terrapins during the 2025-26 college basketball season.
“Alabama head coach Nate Oats has no interest in the vacant Maryland job,” according to The Field of 68 podcast. “There’s been some recent chatter about Oats and the Terps job. No truth to it.“
Cooper Flagg wasn’t the biggest stone in Alabama’s shoe
The Crimson Tide’s shooting inefficiency cost them dearly during their 20-point loss to the Blue Devils. However, according to Oats, it wasn’t Flagg who mostly disrupted their offensive rushes, but instead Khaman Maluach, the freshman center who stands at 7’2” and is a nightmare for opponents in the paint.
“We made the point to our guys, we’re not going to go in and score on him, and we had a few guys still try to challenge him,” Oats said, via ESPN. “It’s kind of a habit, you can tell them going in. And then he ended up having two blocks. We ended up having more blocks than them, but the way he challenges, it’s a problem. He challenges at the rim.”
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The numbers didn’t lie after the game—Alabama finished with a subpar 35.4% field goal percentage and an even worse 25% from beyond the arc. Duke, on the other hand, posted far superior marks, shooting 53.6% from the field and 46.2% from three-point range.