Nate Oats has his surreal moment, and Alabama has a taste of NCAA Tournament history. However, there’s little time to enjoy the moment as attention quickly turns to a juggernaut.

Shortly after the win over Clemson, Oats was asked about his journey getting to this point. He reflected on a “surreal” situation from winning a state championship 11 years ago to getting a chance to work with Bobby Hurley.

Mark Sears also described the impact of the Final Four on the state as an Alabama native:

“Just feeling a lot of emotions. Being from Alabama, the state of Alabama, and to do it with this group of guys, it’s amazing,” said Sears.

As for Oats, he understands that now facing Dan Hurley’s UConn squad things will be much tougher. The Huskies dispatched Illinois Saturday night thanks in large part to a dominant 30-0 run in the game.

“I don’t know if it’s truly hit me yet,” said Oats about reaching his first-ever Final Four. “Probably won’t hit me until after the Final Four is over because I’m going to enjoy it tonight and we’ve got to figure out how to beat UConn. They went on a 30-0 run I heard tonight. Is that correct? That’s unheard of in the Elite 8. That’s crazy.

“You guys at The Athletic wrote an article about Danny has the formula figured out. His formula is working out pretty well. I’m going to have to figure out that formula myself here soon.”

Game odds vs. UConn?

At ESPN Bet, Alabama opens as an 11.5-point underdog in a predictable margin considering the tear the Huskies are on. The point total is listed at 161.5 points, and it stands to reason plenty of points will be scored. Fans can track the latest odds and line movement with SDS’s best sportsbook apps.

Per KenPom, UConn as the No. 1 offense in the country in terms of adjusted efficiency. The Huskies also have the No. 4 adjusted defensive efficiency, but Alabama brings in the No. 3 offense in the country, one that thrives with its 3-point shooting and tempo.

The challenge for the Crimson Tide will be on defense with Alabama checking in with the 104th defense per KenPom’s system. Alabama has already given up 90+ points 11 times, and 10 of those occurrences came in regulation. On the flip side, UConn has 90+ points on offense 9 times this season.

How does Alabama pull it off?

UConn does have 3 losses this year, each one coming during the regular season. One key to each of those defeats by the Huskies involved the 3-point line.

In losses to Creighton and Kansas, the Huskies allowed the opposing team to shoot 50%+ from deep, including Kansas shooting 64% from 3-point range. During the other loss, a 15-point defeat to Seton Hall, UConn struggled with a 19% performance from 3-point range (UConn also shot 18.8% in the aforementioned loss to Creighton).

The good news is Alabama is always a threat to dial things in from 3-point range, something the Crimson Tide did after falling behind against Clemson. However, that also leaves Alabama susceptible if the long shot goes cold.

It will be the key matchup to watch in the Final Four for a UConn team that holds opponents to a 31% clip from deep. If Alabama shoots at or above its 37% average, the Tide will have a legitimate shot, but anything below that will play into the hands of the Huskies.

We’ll soon find out if Oats’ “surreal” journey will end in the Final Four or if Alabama plays for its first-ever national title with a massive upset.