"Will win by 5 points": Alabama football players drop early predictions for Nate Oats' squad as countdown for Final Four begins

Alabama Crimson Tide football players are confident that the basketball team will pull off an upset and beat the UConn Huskies to advance to the national championship game.

The No. 4 seed Crimson Tide reached the Final Four after an 89-82 win over the Clemson Tigers in the Elite Eight and will play the No. 1 seed Huskies on Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, with tipoff at 8:49 p.m. ET. This is a tough task, as UConn is the favorite to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Entering the semifinal matchup, Alabama is an 11.5-point underdog, but the football team has confidence the basketball squad can pull off the upset.

ABC's Jamie Hale caught up with several Crimson Tide players and asked them about the team's chances.

"It's definitely inspiring to see part of your school go and be great and inspire the whole university. You got to class feeling better," defensive lineman Damon Payne said.

"I can't give you a score prediction, but I'll say we'll win by five points, five plus, free throws will win us the game," linebacker Deontae Lawson said.

The Crimson Tide football program will be cheering on the basketball team as it looks to pull off a massive upset against UConn.

Alabama's Nate Oats reveals advice he got from former coach Nick Saban

Alabama Crimson Tide basketball coach Nate Oats said he received advice from former football coach Nick Saban on their run to the Final Four.

“He kinda gave me the next idea. Next, next, next. So, guys bought in. We can make this run. Other teams have done it. We’ve got the capability to do it,” Oats said, via WBRC. “We can have the number 1 offense in the country. We had it for the majority of the year. Let’s put a top 20 defense together and we can make a Final Four and I think we’ve done that.”

Oats says he tried to pick the brain of Saban while he was the coach of the football program:

“I didn’t want to bother him, but I certainly picked his brain when it was appropriate. I went and watched practices. I sat in on staff meetings. I shadowed him for a day. I went on road trips with them to see how they operate.”

If Nate Oats' men upset UConn in the Final Four, it would be a surprise, but the Crimson Tide football team has full confidence that the basketball squad will pull off the upset on Saturday.

If they beat UConn in the Final Four, the Crimson Tide will play the winner of NC State vs. Purdue for the national championship.

Alabama has never won a national title in basketball.