Grant Nelson injury update: Nate Oats reveals Alabama forward's status for Saint Mary's game

Grant Nelson is “panning on playing” for Alabama against Saint Mary’s in the Round of 32, according to Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats.

“We were trying not to play him, play him in case of emergency, and Robert Morris was very good, and he needed to play there at the end,” Oats said, via BamaOnLine’s Charlie Potter.

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 Oats planned to sit him during Alabama’s first-round NCAA Tournament game.

But once Robert Morris hung around for a little too long, Nelson let Oats know he was going in the game. The Alabama head coach didn’t stop him.

“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.

The veteran forward’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. On the season, he’s averaging 11.6 points per game, along with 7.5 rebounds coming into the Round of 32.

It’s unclear whether Nelson will be on a minutes restriction for the Round of 32 matchup against Saint Mary’s, but it does seem as though he’ll try and suit up. Luckily for the Crimson Tide, he gets another day to rest himself before tip off between Alabama and the Gaels.

The game is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. ET and will air live on TNT as the Crimson Tide look for a spot in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in five years, including three straight.

On3’s Alex Byington contributed to this report.