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Although Alabama basketball was concerned about Grant Nelson before Friday's game, they are now concerned about Jarin Stevenson.
The latter took a hard fall and was favoring his left wrist, according to Charlie Potter of On3 Sports on X (formerly Twitter). He also described that Stevenson immediately went to the locker room. Stevenson later returned to the game with heavy taping on his left wrist, but Crimson Tide fans will take solace in the fact that he was able to return.
With the help of Stevenson as well as the surprise insertion of Nelson late in the game, Alabama was able to survive a valiant upset bid from No. 15 seed Robert Morris. The Colonials took a 65-64 lead in the second half, but Nate Oats and company were able to pull away in a 90-81 win to advance to the second round against either St. Mary's or Vanderbilt.
The sophomore forward is a crucial part of the depth for Oats. While his statistics don't paint the whole story, it is the little things. The physicality, hustle, and shooting help balance out the Alabama basketball program.
With guys like Mark Sears and Grant Nelson, they get the majority of the attention. However, guys like Stevenson are the glue guys. They are the ones who will put a stamp on the game without it showing up in the stat sheet.
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Alabama basketball will miss Jarin Stevenson in the NCAA tournament
The first round of the tournament is usually the testing ground for the elite teams. However, the beauty of the NCAA tournament is that there is a ton of unpredictability.
For instance, Drake defeated Missouri in an upset, along with McNeese State's thrilling win over Clemson. While those were 11-6 and 12-5 upsets, there hasn't been a 15-2 upset yet.
While Stevenson isn't the star that Sears or Nelson is, he is a key part of their scheme. He is an effective roller to the rim, as well as potential to be a deadeye from beyond the arc.
A team like Robert Morris can try their best to exploit the weakness. After all, the Crimson Tide are an offensively savvy team, but has concerns about their defense.
That is part of why Alabama basketball is on upset watch during the NCAA tournament. No matter what, this shouldn't be something that head coach Nate Oats should be too concerned about.
