Alabama forward’s injury update a positive sign for team’s NCAA Tournament outlook

On Saturday, Nelson suffered a knee injury during the first half of Alabama’s 104-82 SEC Tournament semifinal loss to eventual tourney-champion Florida (30-4, 14-4 in SEC).

On Sunday, CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein shared Nelson planned to see a knee specialist and that his status for the NCAA Tournament was unclear.

Nelson, a fifth-year senior in his second season at Alabama after three seasons at North Dakota State (2020-23), is averaging 11.8 points per game on a career-best 52.8 percent field goal percentage in 2024-25.

Nelson is the Crimson Tide’s second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game.

Alabama (25-8, 13-5 in SEC) is a No. 2 seed in the East Region. Last year, the Tide were a No. 1 seed and reached the Final Four for the first time in program history. They’re a veteran squad, ranking eighth in KenPom’s experience metric among tourney teams, which should help them avoid an early upset, even without Nelson.

While he‘s considered questionable, Alabama can likely afford to give Nelson extra rest, allowing him to be ready for a second-round game against No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s (28-5, 17-1 in WCC) or No. 10 seed Vanderbilt (20-12, 8-10 in SEC)

Alabama is No. 6 in NET and KenPom. It plays at the country’s fastest pace and leads the nation in scoring (91.1 points per game).

With Grant avoiding the worst-case scenario with his knee, the Tide are unlikely to slow down.