Nate Oats didn’t lose his mind. There’s really nothing odd about No. 6 Alabama visiting North Dakota in the dead of winter and playing in a 3,300-seat arena.
Again, not odd in the least that one of the top programs in the country is playing a game in Grand Forks, N.D.
The big occasion is that Alabama forward Grant Nelson is receiving one final chance to play a college basketball game in his home state when the Crimson Tide face the Fighting Hawks on Wednesday night.
“We told the guys, make sure they have their winter coats,” Oats said Monday while the team was still in Alabama. “I got to go find mine. I never put a winter coat on down here.”
The 6-foot-11 Nelson is a native of Devils Lake, N.D., a town of about 7,000 people that is located 90 miles west of Grand Forks.
His biggest challenge in returning home? Tickets.
“I’ve got nine siblings and they all got family,” Nelson said. “It’s crazy the amount of people. They gave me a link of my own tickets to send to them, so thankful for that.”
A growth spurt in high school and improvement in his skills led to Nelson receiving a scholarship from North Dakota State. He played three seasons with the Bison and developed into a first-team All-Summit League selection who averaged 17.9 points and 9.3 rebounds during the 2022-23 campaign.
Nelson put his name into the NBA draft — before later withdrawing it — then entered the transfer portal and eventually chose to transfer to Alabama.
Last season, he averaged 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds as the Crimson Tide reached the Final Four before losing to eventual national champion UConn. One of his top efforts of the season came in the Sweet 16 when he had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots in an 89-87 victory over North Carolina.
Nelson is averaging 12.2 points and 8.0 rebounds this season for Alabama (8-2).
The Crimson Tide are coming off an 83-75 home win over Creighton on Saturday. Mark Sears scored 27 points to lead the way.
North Dakota (4-8) has dropped three straight games and six of its last seven.
The last two setbacks were to UTSA in a home-and-home. The Fighting Hawks fell 80-76 in San Antonio on Friday and 95-85 at home on Sunday.
Treysen Eaglestaff made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points on Sunday for his sixth 20-point outing of the season. He leads North Dakota in scoring (18.6 points per game) and 3-point baskets (33).
Dariyus Woodson added 23 points and is averaging 11.6 points. Mier Panoam (11.3) and Amar Kuljuhovic (11.0) also average in double digits.
Now comes a huge event in Grand Forks with a top-10 team in town and most people expecting a one-sided game.
However, North Dakota coach Paul Sather is looking at the big picture.
“I think having the University of Alabama on our campus, in our gym, is a cool opportunity,” Sather told the Grand Forks Herald. “You don’t see teams do that very often. It’s going to be a fun, packed environment. It’s our job to compete on every possession and see what happens.”
The Fighting Hawks agreed to play two games at Alabama as part of the deal. The first is slated for next season and the other occurring in the 2027-28 campaign. Wednesday night’s game will be the first meeting between the schools.
