BamaCentral Courtside: No. 2 Alabama 90, No. 15 Robert Morris 81

The Crimson Tide escaped a first-round scare against Robert Morris on Friday.

Alabama and Robert Morris jump for the ball to start their Round of 64 game. / Will Miller/BamaCentral

CLEVELAND— The East Region's No. 2 seed made it past a Round of 64 test on Friday. Alabama (26-8) defeated 15-seed Robert Morris 90-81 inside Cleveland's Rocket Arena on Friday.

The Colonials (26-9) took a lead in the second half and came close to adding their program to the exclusive list of squads to knock off a two-seed in the first round. Alabama had two players (Mark Sears and Mouhamed Dioubate) record double-doubles.

Rebounding was a major issue for the Crimson Tide, which lost out on the offensive glass 16-5. Dioubate led the team with 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Jarin Stevenson said boards will be a big point of emphasis for the team going into the next round.

Forward Grant Nelson sustained an injury against Florida on March 15 and was initially day-to-day. He went into Friday's game and made an immediate impact with a dunk that sent the lead back to Alabama. That moment, him checking in, was an overall difference-maker in the contest.

While the effort Alabama (26-8) gave against Robert Morris was far from its best, it was still enough to get the win. As the NCAA Tournament continues, it may be that a subpar effort will not be enough to advance and keep the season going.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral beat writers Katie Windham, Hunter de Siver and Will Miller analyze what they saw from the RMU game, as well as break down potential Round of 32 matchups for the Crimson Tide against either St. Mary's or Vanderbilt.

See Also:

•

No. 2 Alabama Basketball Survives No. 15 Robert Morris to Advance to Round of 32

•

No. 2 Alabama Basketball Doesn't Want 'To Be Part of Nobody's Cinderella Story'

•

Postcard from Rocket Arena: Alabama Basketball's Day 1 in Cleveland