After Kevin Willard’s messy departure to Villanova opened the Maryland head coach job, Alabama basketball’s Nate Oats was one of the rumored candidates. Oats never showed any sign of potentially departing the Crimson Tide, and none of the rumors came from reputable sources, but still, UA athletics director Greg Byrne shot them down on Monday.

While Alabama basketball head coach Nate Oats was finding answers for the Elite Eight loss to Duke, a rumor involving Maryland was quickly mentioned. Originally, there was a rumor that suggested that Oats would leave the program for the Terrapins.

Although there were moments when the game seemed within reach, Cooper Flagg and Duke were simply too much to handle. Alabama went on to lose 85-65, as their shooting stroke evaded them, going just 8-of-32 (25%) from deep and 23-of-65 (35.4%) from the field.