Nate Oats on Nick Pringle suspension: He's got to decide whether he wants to be a part of this program or not

The Alabama Crimson Tide struggled mightily with the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday evening. The Bulldogs were putting on a show from beyond-the-arc and the Tide couldn’t find many answers for most of the game. Alabama was without one of their key players. During the broadcast, the SEC Network broadcast crew let fans know that Alabama center Nick Pringle did not travel with the Tide to the road contest in Athens, due to conduct detrimental to the team.

The Crimson Tide battled back in the second half, thanks to some impressive performances from Mark Sears, Rylen Griffen, and Grant Nelson. Alabama trailed 41-27 at half, but outscored the Bulldogs 58-35 for the come-from-behind victory on the road.

Alabama ended up pulling out the win, 85-76, and following the big road victory, Tide head coach Nate Oats gave a harsh explanation on the status of Pringle. “He’s currently suspended. He’s got to decide whether he wants to be a part of this program or not….Nothing off the court, just in practice.”

This season, Pringle has averaged 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Without him in the lineup, the Tide had a number of players step up.

Without Pringle, the Crimson Tide had a number of other players spark the comeback victory

Grant Nelson was clearly back to his old self. He poured in 20 points, including two massive threes in the final two minutes to put the game on ice. Nelson stuffed the stat sheet with 20 points, two blocks, and one steal in 29 minutes of work. He drilled 8 of 11 field goal attempts, including two of his four shots from beyond-the-arc.

Nelson provided the nail in the coffin in the final minutes, but Mark Sears was unquestionably the man that carried Alabama in the second half. Fueled by the disrespect he’s received in the national media this week, Sears took it out on Georgia in the second half. He erupted for 19 of his 23 points in the second half, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 4:09 remaining. Sears also drilled two free throws to extend the Crimson Tide’s lead to five points down the stretch.

Georgia led Alabama by as many as 16 points in the first half, but couldn’t stop the Tide’s second-half comeback fueled by Sears, Grant Nelson, and Rylen Griffen. Griffen drilled a three in the second half to tie the game for the first time at 64-64. He finished with 12 points.