Alabama forward Grant Nelson (4) shoots a three-point shot against Illinois during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
As was announced back in May, UND men’s basketball will host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday.
The primary reason is to allow Devils Lake alum Grant Nelson to play one more game in his home state. Nelson is in his fifth and final year of college basketball, and his second with Alabama following three years at NDSU.
The game is set to be broadcast on CBS Sports Network while also streaming on Fubo, Hulu and YouTube TV. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center in Grand Forks. The game has already been sold out for weeks, with the arena seating 3,140 fans for basketball.
Nelson helped Alabama reach the Final Four last season. Shortly following Nelson’s heroics, the Journal interviewed him for an exclusive story.
The Tide are 8-2 and ranked No. 6 in the country so far this year. UND, on the other hand, is 4-8. The statistical archive KenPom ranks Alabama’s offense sixth in the country, and UND’s offense 224th. Alabama’s defense ranks 38th, while UND’s defense ranks 345th.
Treysen Eaglestaff leads UND with 18.6 points per game. Dariyus Woodson, Mier Panoam and Amar Kuljuhovic all have more than 11. The Fighting Hawks are coming off an 18-14 season.
Nelson averaged 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year. This season, those marks are at 12.2 and 8.1, respectively. He’s projected by mainstream outlets to be a second-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
The 6-foot-11 Nelson is second on the team in points per game behind Mark Sears, who leads with 17.5. Labaron Philon and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. are both at 11.5. Notably, Wrightsell Jr. recently suffered a season-ending Achilles tendon injury. Alabama is otherwise healthy, and returns a good portion of last year’s Final Four team.
“Be careful what you ask for, right?” UND head coach Paul Sather said on Hot Mic w/ Dom Izzo in May. “We’re gonna get a really good team on our floor. With who they have coming back…they’re gonna be fantastic. It’s gonna be a great opportunity for us to get better and go against a team that’s not only really good, but really long, really athletic — high-level offensive team… We know that we’re gonna be seeing a monster of a team. But let’s go compete. Let’s have fun and see what happens.”
Nelson, who was named North Dakota’s Mr. Basketball in 2020, is one of two Devils Lake players to receive the award. He’s one of 10 siblings, which includes current Devils Lake basketball star Joel Nelson and USC javelin thrower Leif Nelson.
The last time Nelson faced UND was for NDSU in Fargo on Jan. 27, 2023. He scored a career-high 36 points in a 91-75 win. The last time he played in Grand Forks was earlier that season on Dec. 30, 2022. Nelson scored 18 points and had eight rebounds in a 71-49 beatdown.
NDSU went 5-1 against UND during Nelson’s tenure.
“Maybe we need to find a way to get the bus to break down and get caught in some 20-below weather on the way,” Sather joked in May. “So maybe they gotta walk a few blocks. We’ve gotta come up with some kind of gamesmanship. But we won’t. We’ll treat ‘em great. They’ll have a great experience. And I think we’ll have an awesome crowd.”
