Alabama men’s basketball has an elite opponent standing in its way of the Final Four.

Duke has all kinds of strengths and few weaknesses. They’re a No. 1 seed for a reason. But Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats is not heading into the matchup thinking Alabama needs a hope and a prayer to beat the Blue Devils.

“I know we’ll be underdogs,” Oats said Friday. “I know they’re the one seed. We understand all that. Our mindset is we go in, we do what we need to do with the game plan, and we’re going to get the win.”

Oats recognizes that’s easier said than done as Alabama prepares for the Elite Eight at 7:49 p.m. CT on Saturday at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

“But we’re not going in there just hoping we can play with them,” Oats said.

Oats is no stranger to being an underdog. These days, that’s not as commonplace for his teams. But when he was at Buffalo, he had plenty of experience with it, specifically in the NCAA Tournament. In 2018, his Bulls team upset No. 4 seed Arizona in the first round.

His approach then won’t be all that different from his approach now.

“I think you lay out the game plan; if we execute these things, you keep it as simple as you can, but it’s got to be a game plan that when these are executed, you win the game,” Oats said. “That’s the expectation going into every game no matter who we play, and we’ve played the best teams in the country since I’ve got here.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.