Grant Nelson injury update: Alabama makes final decision on star big man vs. Mississippi State

Alabama forward Grant Nelson is set to play in Tuesday’s contest against Mississippi State. Nelson popped up on the Monday injury report with an undisclosed issue. But just ahead of tipoff in Tuscaloosa, his name has been removed.

There have been some recent struggles for Nelson and if Alabama is going to get through this tough stretch, some quality performances are needed. Playing at full health is obviously priority No. 1 and appears to be a passed hurdle.

Nelson has found himself on the bench more often than not recently. Just 18 minutes were played in the Missouri loss and 15 against Kentucky. Getting in foul trouble has been a frequent problem in them, being called for four in each contest.

As a result, the scoring has not been minimized. Nelson scored eight vs. Missouri and five in Coleman Coliseum with Kentucky in town. Making five of nine shots is a positive stat but Nelson has not been on the court long enough to get a high volume of looks.

Performing well against Mississippi State would be nothing new for Nelson, though. Back on Jan. 29 in an Alabama win, Nelson recorded 15 points and seven rebounds while also blocking three shots. Something similar would be much appreciated from head coach Nate Oats, needing his star player to get back into form.

Alabama set for tough final four games of regular season

The high-level depth of the SEC has been a big talking point this season. Just looking at NCAA Tournament projections tells the story, with as many as 13 teams potentially getting into the field on Selection Sunday. Teams will be taking some of the top seeds as well.

Alabama will be running into quite a few over those over the next two weeks. One of the more difficult stretches of the season will begin on Tuesday against Mississippi State. Then, three teams all ranked inside the latest AP poll’s top five — Tennessee, Florida, and Auburn — will close out the season.

Right now, the SEC standings have Alabama third behind Auburn and technically tied with Florida but the Gators have the advantage. Winning a regular season title is still possible but out of their control, especially with this slate of games.

One thing is for sure — most teams inside the SEC will be battle-tested heading into the NCAA Tournament. Oats has never been one to shy away from a difficult nonconference schedule and is now getting a similar taste inside the SEC.