Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats felt his words after the Crimson Tide beat Texas A&M Saturday were “twisted.” Oats had praised UA center Cliff Omoruyi for bouncing back after an ankle injury in the game.

“Says a lot about Cliff,” Oats said after the game. “A lot of guys would have just sat that one out after they rolled the ankle like he did. He manned up, wanted to play, wanted to be there for his teammates.”

Some Auburn faithful felt the line was a shot at Tiger forward Johni Broome, who suffered a significant ankle injury that same day, leading to a stir on social media. Broome is out indefinitely with a sprain.

Oats clarified that the comment was not a shot at his cross-state rivals.

“I had nothing in my head at all about Johni Broome’s ankle injury,” Oats said. “When I saw the video of Johni Broome’s injury, it looked like he broke it. Significantly different injury. Saying that one of our guys is tough does not insinuate that somebody from another team is not.”

Broome will miss Auburn’s upcoming matchup with Mississippi State, Bruce Pearl said on Monday. Omoruyi will be back in Alabama’s lineup after helping the Crimson Tide pull off a road win when he returned to the court after his injury.

The Rutgers transfer finished the game with seven points, 10 rebounds and a block.

“Cliff’s tough,” Oats said. “Doesn’t insinuate anything about the other great program in our state that is currently the best team in the country. So get that straight moving forward for anybody that tried to twist my words on Cliff’s injury.”