"He's the GOAT": Rylan Griffen believes Alabama HC Nate Oats is on the doorstep of winning a National Championship

Nate Oats guided the No. 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide (23-11) to their third Sweet 16 appearance during his tenure by defeating No. 12 seed Grand Canyon (30-5) 72-61 on Sunday. Since taking over the Crimson in 2019,

Under Oats since 2019, Alabama has consistently made March Madness appearances, with their best run being the Sweet Sixteen. His players were all praises for him and guard Rylan Griffen even went as far as calling Nate Oats a GOAT.

"He the GOAT in my opinion. You know, he hasn’t got a Natty yet but trust me, he will get a Natty, eventually ... Everybody gonna think its a hot take but in my opinion he's the GOAT. A lot of great coaches out there but in my opinion he's just unique. He finds a way to win every level he's been at.

The tip-off against Grand Canyon was close, but Alabama's excessive fouls gave the Lopes 37 free throws. However, their shooting was poor, making only 23 free throws and 18 of 56 shots, including 2 of 20 from the three-point line.

Alabama was led by Mark Sears, who scored 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while, Rylan Griffen had 13 points.

Speaking to the press later, coach Nate Oats addressed the fouls situation.

"Yeah, we let our emotions get the best of us, myself included, with the T that didn't help, and then Pringle got the T. We said at halftime, like, we're not giving away any more free points," Oats said.

"So you got to be emotionally invested in the game without doing things that cost you points and stuff. That way we were good, I thought our bench was great." (via Bama Central)

Alabama was also not at its best in the offense as it took 24-of-65 shots including 8-of-31 from behind the arc. Coach Oats later said:

"You got to give Grand Canyon a lot of credit too. They got great athletes, they got rim protection, they made it harder on us. So they're a good defensive team, but we just missed some shots too."

Nate Oats trolls Charles Barkley after his March Madness bracket goes bust

Auburn alum, Charles Barkley lost his bracket after the Tigers lost to Yale in the second round on Friday. Later, during a pregame show on Saturday, Nate Oats said:

"It's March Madness, of course Barkley's bracket is busted. He's from Auburn."

Barkley replied to this with a jab.

"Coach Oats, he does a great job. I’m going to be rooting for them to lose, I’m not gonna lie.”

What do you think are the Crimson Tide's chances this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.