Nate Oats reveals how Alabama is scouting Cooper Flagg ahead of Elite Eight

Cooper Flagg has been dominant during Duke‘s run in the NCAA Tournament. Leading his squad to the Elite Eight, his Blue Devils are set to take on their toughest opponent to this point in the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Before Saturday’s matchup, Alabama head coach Nate Oats was asked of the challenges someone like Flagg presents on the scouting report. He explained how his team plans to keep the star forward in check heading into the opening tip.

“He’s essentially their four man, but he plays like a two guard, so you can’t put traditional fours on him,” Oats said during an appearance on College GameDay on Saturday. “But I think we’ve got fours — Grant Nelson moves fairly well. [Mouhamed] Diabate moves really well. Jarin Stevenson is 6 foot 10, but he’s guarded guys like RJ Davis and Josh Hubbard. … We’ve got different options. We’re gonna switch up our pick and roll. He’s good, but what we can’t have him doing is going for 30 and also getting seven or eight assists and picking up a bunch of fouls and offensive rebounds.

“You’re gonna have to somehow limit him in that regard. But we can’t have him getting out in transition on us either, because I think he’s really lethal when he gets out [on the break] off of turnovers and missed shots.

Oats’ emphasis on stopping the Blue Devils in transition will start with Flagg. At the same time, the Alabama coach pointed out that Duke’s bevy of 3-point shooters could become an issue for Alabama if they overcompensate for Flagg’s presence on the court.

Duke currently sits at 34-3 overall — the most wins of any team still left in the March Madness field. Moreover, Flagg has been leading that effort this year and has been a constant statsheet stuffer for his entire true freshman season.

He leads Duke in points (19.0), rebounds (7.5), assists (4.3), steals (1.4) and blocks (1.3) per game. He’s also made his mark on the NCAA Tournament as well. In Duke’s Round of 32 win over Baylor, Flagg’s fingerprints were all over the court.

He finished the game with 18 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a block as his team cruised to an 89-66 victory. That remained true in the Sweet 16 when he dropped 30 points, seven assists and six rebounds during a 100-93 win over Arizona.

Before the Sweet 16, Duke went ahead and beat its first two NCAA Tournament opponents by an average of 33.5 points on a 91 points per game average. Set to do battle against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Elite Eight, all eyes will be on Flagg to perform in front of the bright lights with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

Tip-off is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. ET and will air live on TBS and truTV. The Blue Devils are a 6.5-point betting favorite over the Crimson Tide as of this report, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.