The Alabama basketball team is fresh off a Final Four run in 2024. Alabama defeated Charleston, Grand Canyon, North Carolina and Clemson to get to the Final Four before losing to the UConn Huskies, who wound up winning the tournament.
This year, Alabama has had a strong year. The Crimson Tide finished 25-8 overall with a 13-5 SEC mark. Alabama lost to Florida in the SEC tournament semifinal round by 22 points n a 104-82 blowout game.
Still, there are high hopes for the Alabama basketball team, and there is a path to them winning the tournament this time. On the other hand, there are some concerns for Alabama that could derail them from cutting down the nets in April.
Grant Nelson injury is at the forefront for Alabama
The biggest concern for Alabama is the status of star Grant Nelson. He got hurt during the SEC tournament game against Florida on Saturday, which is not promising for his hopes of being healthy for the Big Dance.
On Monday, Alabama head coach Nate Oats gave an update on Nelson’s status, although there is no clear indication of whether or not he will play on Friday.
“We need to get him healthy. Not sure he will be ready by Friday,” Oats said. “We’re hoping at a minimum he’ll be ready by Sunday with the possibility of maybe Friday. Thought he played really well. We dodged one. It wasn’t anything too serious with his knee but for sure will be questionable for that first game Friday.”
Nelson is dealing with a knee injury, and he is an important part of the team. On the year, he is the second-leading scorer with 12.1 points per game, behind only Mark Sears who is at 19.2 PPG.
Nelson, the former North Dakota State transfer, was also a key part of the rotation in the 2024 March Madness and a big reason why they wound up in the Final Four. On Friday, Alabama starts against No. 15 Robert Morris, but a potential Round of 32 matchup against either St. Mary’s or Vanderbilt could be troublesome if Nelson doesn’t suit up.
A tricky road to navigate
It is not very common for a 15-seed to defeat a 2-seed. However, Robert Morris is a dangerous team to watch. The Colonials have won 10 games in a row and have just one loss since January 12.
They can score at a high level (76.9 points per game) and are 40th in the country with 16 assists per game. Moreover, without Nelson, Alabama looks like a much different team.
Assuming Alabama gets past Robert Morris (as it should), a second-round battle between St. Mary’s and Vanderbilt is in store. Vanderbilt played Alabama on January 21, although the Crimson Tide got the 103-87 win.
The bottom half of the East Region includes No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 11 VCU (who is a Cinderella candidate) and No. 6 BYU. Still, a Final Four trip would mean Alabama would need to defeat one of Duke or Arizona if that’s what the Elite Eight ends up being.
All in all, the biggest concern is the status of Nelson, and it could end Alabama’s March Madness run earlier than expected.
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