Grant Nelson wasn’t supposed to play against Robert Morris.
The Alabama forward injured his knee in the SEC tournament and was officially deemed questionable for Friday’s first-round NCAA tournament game against the No. 15 Colonials. But Alabama showed how badly it needed him in the second half as it avoided one of the biggest upsets in men’s March Madness history with a 90-81 win.
Nelson entered the game for the first with 8:47 to go and Alabama clinging to a four-point lead. Robert Morris briefly took a one-point lead about 90 seconds later, but Alabama went ahead for good with 6:40 to go when Aden Holloway found Nelson for an alley-oop.