Grant Nelson injury update: Nate Oats admits Alabama forward put himself in late vs. Robert Morris

Grant Nelson could see the writing on the wall, and once 15th-seeded Robert Morris pulled within a single score of second-seeded Alabama, the ailing senior forward stood up and called his own number. Despite only playing seven minutes, Nelson sparked the 7th-ranked Crimson Tide with a pair of dunks during an 11-1 run to knock off the upset-minded Colonials, 90-81, and avoid a first-round scare Friday in Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.

A game-time decision after missing the last week with a sprained ankle, the 6-foot-11 Nelson was cleared to play before tip but spent the game’s first 31 minutes on the bench as Tide head coach Nate Oats planned to sit him during Alabama’s first-round NCAA Tournament game. But once Robert Morris, fueled by a game-high 25 points from Cleveland native Amarion Dickerson, made it a game, Nelson let Oats know he was going in the game.

“I mean, when he told me he was ready, I think he sensed it like ‘Oh, we can’t afford to lose this.’ He stood up like (he was saying) ‘Put me in,'” Oats told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein during a postgame interview. “We were trying to get out of that game without playing him, but it does us no good if he doesn’t play and we go home.”

Nelson entered the game for the first time with 8:47 remaining after the Colonials (26-9) cut the Tide’s lead to 60-58 and provided an immediate impact in the paint, including a dunk with 6:40 remaining to retake the lead, 66-65, after Robert Morris took its first lead of the game 30 seconds earlier. Nelson’s dunk sparked an 11-1 Tide run over the game’s next three and a half minutes, and Alabama never looked back. Nelson finished with four points and three rebounds after starting the game on the bench.

Nelson’s impact inside was key, pulling down a defensive rebound immediately upon entering, and keeping the Colonials from another offensive board after dominating the paint throughout the game. Robert Morris finished with a 16-5 advantage on the offensive boards and out-rebounded Alabama 39-37 for the game, with Oats crediting the Tide’s 32-23 defensive rebounding advantage.

Offensively, senior guard Mark Sears and sophomore forward Mouhamed Dioubate each posted double-doubles in the game, with Sears dropping a team-high 22 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, and Dioubate earning the team’s “Hard Hat Award” with 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench Friday.

“We finally got some stops and defensive rebounds, they did a great job on the offensive boards, we didn’t rebound it well enough most of the game,” Oats said. “But we got some defensive rebounds, got buckets in transition and opened it up a little bit. They’re a good team, give them a lot of credit, Dickerson was all over the glass, we didn’t do a good job on him.

“I think Sears didn’t want it to be his last game, you could see his sense of urgency went way up the second half, got himself to the rim, got some and-1s, got to the free throw line and converted that too.”