Alabama begins its push to reach its second straight Final Four as it prepares to face Robert Morris in a first-round game of the East Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon at Cleveland.The Crimson Tide (25-8), who drew a No. 2 seed in the region following a loss to Florida in the SEC tournament semifinals last week, are dealing with an injury to 6-foot-11 star forward Grant Nelson ahead of their matchup with the 15th-seeded Colonials (26-8).The winner will take on No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s or No. 10 seed Vanderbilt in the second round on Sunday.Nelson, Alabama’s second-leading scorer at 11.4 points per game and top rebounder (7.6 rpg), has been nursing a left knee injury since that 104-82 loss to the Gators. Tide coach Nate Oats said the senior is questionable for the team’s tournament opener.”We need to get him healthy. Not sure he will be ready by Friday,” Oats said. “We’re hoping at a minimum he’ll be ready by Sunday with the possibility of maybe Friday. I thought he played really well. We dodged one. It wasn’t anything too serious with his knee but for sure will be questionable for that first game Friday.”Alabama has lost three of its past five games, including two against Florida and one against Tennessee.The Crimson Tide’s offense continues to thrive, though, as they lead the nation in scoring, averaging 91.1 points per game.The Tide is shooting 48.3 percent overall from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc, which contributes to their 9.7 ppg margin of victory.Robert Morris is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after winning the Horizon League tournament championship, finishing the season on a 10-game winning streak.
