Oats seems to have a dislike for the Tar Heels.
After Alabama took down North Carolina in the Sweet 16, Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats continued to pour it on the Tar Heels. He said things pregame and postgame that have rubbed UNC fans the wrong way.
Pregame Comments
Before the Sweet 16 matchup, Oats went on the Paul Finebaum show and took aim at North Carolina center Armando Bacot.
He said, “Carolina’s got Armando Bacot, we’ve been in these games. Now we haven’t been as successful. We went 0-4 in those games. But we’ve played guys like this. We’ve been in them. We were up nine in the second half on Purdue, which has got the best big in the country, so it’s not like we’re going to be intimidated by Bacot.”
Although the Tar Heels lost, Bacot finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Postgame Fire
In a clip shared by the NCAA March Madness page on X, Oats gloated to former Chapel Hill product and current Alabama forward Jarin Stevenson. Oats said, “Guess what? The fellas in Chapel Hill, Jarin, they don’t have practice tomorrow.”
Stevenson had a long recruitment process with many twists and turns. He was considered a lock to UNC for months before eventually committing to Alabama late in the cycle.
Maybe North Carolina will get Alabama in the ACC/SEC challenge for a chance at revenge.
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