Nate Oats provides injury update on Brandon Miller ahead of NCAA Tournament

For the first time in school history, Alabama is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Off the backs of winning the SEC regular season and tournament championship, Nate Oats has his team in position to compete for a national championship. However, there was an injury concern along the way for the Crimson Tide.

Oats revealed star freshman forward Brandon Miller played through a groin injury this past week. The performances from Miller in Nashville were still incredible, with his head coach giving out credit for toughing it out. Still, it’s something to watch for as Alabama prepares for the big dance.

“He was playing with a hurt groin, too,” Oats said via “Hey Coach” on Monday. “It kind of showed how tough he was to be able to play through injuries.”

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Oats did not reveal the exact point Miller suffered the injury. And there might not be a place we can pinpoint it either. Miller has continued to play as one of the best players in the country, winning SEC Tournament MVP.

In three games at Bridgestone Arena, Miller averaged just over 20 points and 11 rebounds against Mississippi State, Missouri, and Texas A&M. In times when other Alabama teammates struggled offensively, the SEC Player of the Year simply took over the game in impressive fashion.

Miller will now have some time to rest and attempt to get back to 100%. Alabama does not yet know its Round of 64 opponent but will play on Thursday afternoon in Birmingham. They are expected to take care of business against the 16-seed, no matter who wins between Texas A&M-CC and SE Missouri State.

Even so, Miller played through the groin injury in higher-leverage games in the SEC Tournament. While Oats did not expand too much, you can expect Miller to be out there on the court and making a huge impact.