Ad Disclosure
Grant Nelson is expected to see a knee specialist ahead of the NCAA Tournament this week.
That’s according to Alabama head coach Nate Oats, who shared that news on Sunday afternoon. Nelson suffered a knee injury in Alabama’s loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament semifinals on Saturday.
Alabama’s hopes of making a deep tournament run may rest on whether or not Nelson gets good news from the knee specialist. He’s one of the Tide’s most important and versatile players, which was made clear by Saturday’s result. Nelson was just a -2 yesterday in a 22-point loss.
Nelson is averaging 11.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season. Much of his versatility comes on the defensive side of the ball where he can guard multiple positions at a high level.
Without Nelson, Alabama is forced to rely more on its back court for offensive production with guards like Mark Sears and Labaron Philon. That’s a recipe that could work for Alabama in March, but the Crimson Tide will hope to have Nelson back in the lineup as soon as possible.
Alabama will learn its NCAA Tournament seed on Sunday when the bracket is revealed beginning at 6 p.m. ET.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
