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Grant Nelson will be questionable for Alabama’s first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament this week.
Alabama coach Nate Oats announced that news on Monday evening during his ‘Hey Coach’ show. Oats previously said that Nelson was scheduled to see a knee specialist to determine his outlook for March Madness.
It seems Alabama got good news on Nelson during that meeting. Oats said Nelson is “questionable” for Alabama’s opening-round game on Friday but said the Tide have some optimism he’ll be good to go on Sunday “at a minimum.”
Nelson hurt his knee in the first half of Alabama’s SEC Tournament semifinal loss to Florida on Saturday. As one of Alabama’s best 2-way players, Nelson’s status is crucial to the Tide’s chances of making a repeat trip to the Final Four this season.
Nelson is averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season. He also has a defensive rating of 104 on the year, which is 2nd best to only Clifford Omoruyi (103.6) amongst Alabama’s regular starters. Nelson averages 1.2 blocks and 0.5 steals per game.
Alabama’s Final Four odds currently sit at +450, per DraftKings. That’s the 2nd-best odds in the East region behind only Duke (-120).
With or without Nelson, Alabama will face Robert Morris at 12:40 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon. If the Tide win that game, they’ll face either Saint Mary’s or Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
