CLEVELAND — In the first half of Alabama basketball 's NCAA Tournament opener on Friday, it looked like forward Grant Nelson may not even hit the floor.
Then, the No. 2 seed Crimson Tide found itself in trouble against No. 15 seed Robert Morris , trailing for the first time since tip-off with 7:10 to play and the season on the line.
Nelson's status had been in question since he sustained a knee injury in Alabama's SEC Tournament loss to Florida nearly a week earlier. Right before Friday's tip-off, coach Nate Oats declared that Nelson was available but would not start.
That left just enough time for Nelson, the 6-foot-11 big man from Devils Lake, North Dakota , to make some magic and let the March Madness continue for Alabama (26-8) with a 90-81 victory. It wasn't his biggest day on the stat sheet and it wasn't anything close to the 24-point, 12-rebound performance vs. UNC last year that advanced UA to the Elite Eight, but the Crimson Tide may have been headed back to Tuscaloosa after the first round had the fifth year not come off the bench.
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Nelson didn't play any more than seven minutes. He only had five points. With 10 or more rebounds in 10 games this season, his three boards didn't look like much.
Another classic stat-book lie.
After he came off the bench with 8:47 to play, Robert Morris on's Amarion Dickerson had a layup that turned into a 3-point play before a driving layup from Josh Omojafo, who gave Robert Morris (26-9) its first lead of the game with another basket in the paint.
Nelson answered Omojafo with an alley-oop dunk, and the slam evidently shook Robert Morris into missing its next eight shots, ending a late, furious rally as Alabama pulled away.
What was going through Nelson's mind when he checked in?
"I've got to step up here. My season, my career could be over," Nelson said in the locker room after the game.
Nelson listened to Oats' preaching in the locker room at halftime and knew he had to crash the offensive glass if he did play. In the first half, Alabama was beat 8-3 on the offensive boards and still finished down, 16-5, and Nelson was itching to get in the game long before he saw his team struggle.
"His size is just hard to deal with," Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. He said his players earned a "tip of the cap" for forcing Alabama to bring the North Dakota State transfer into the game.
After Grant entered, Robert Morris managed only two offensive rebounds.
For the minutes he got, Nelson's effort was unmatched. Mo Dioubate, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out, took the team's hard-hat award once again, leading Nelson by one in the dirty-work point system upon which it is based.
However, putting the hat on Dioubate's seat in the locker room before the game even happened, suggesting Alabama knew who was going to walk away as the winner from Robert Morris, struck a chord in Nelson.
"For real?" Nelson asked.
"I've got it next game," Nelson nodded.
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Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for the Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Grant Nelson is back: Can he be Mr March again for Alabama basketball?
