Don’t worry. Alabama men’s basketball knows it hasn’t played well.

Alabama forward Grant Nelson didn’t mince his words on his return to his home state, talking about the Crimson Tide’s 97-90 win over North Dakota on Wednesday in Fargo, North Dakota, which came down to the final minute.

“We played terribly most of the game,” said Nelson, a former North Dakota State player. “When we came in, we didn’t take these guys seriously. I told them this is a big game on their home court. We have to take these guys seriously. They’re playing for a lot.”

It showed. The Fighting Hawks (4-9) fought from start to finish, leading at halftime and even tying the game with two minutes left. Alabama’s 13 turnovers in the first half proved to be problematic early on. Then the Crimson Tide (9-2) solved its turnover problem, but no longer played good defense.

“We got yelled at like we should have,” said Nelson, a native of Devils Lake, North Dakota. “I’m sure we’ll continue to get yelled at for the rest of this week. But like I said, they played really great. It’s a great team and I think they’ll win a lot of games.”

Alabama coach Nate Oats was particularly frustrated with his defense. North Dakota scored 52 points in the second half, averaging 1.486 points per possession.

“I give North Dakota credit; They wanted this game,” Oats said. “They were prepared for it. Great environment. The audience was great. And our guys weren’t really ready to play. Our matchup against (Treysen) Eaglestaff didn’t get off to a good start. I don’t know if we ever really found the right partner.”

According to ESPN, Eaglestaff scored 40 points, becoming the first mid-major player to do so against a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll since 2012. The Bismarck, North Dakota native kept the Fighting Hawks in check until the end, as he shot 15 of 30 and 8 of 18 from long range. Nelson, meanwhile, scored 23 points and 10 rebounds.

“I can’t sleep with these North Dakota boys,” Nelson said. “They can really play basketball. I’ve known him for a while. I played him when he was here and I was at North Dakota State. I knew he was a great player. Our reconnaissance report largely revolved around him.”

That made it all the more frustrating that Eaglestaff did what he did.

“I feel like we let ourselves down,” Nelson said. “We still have a lot to learn. We’ll watch the video and see what we can do better.”

Nick Kelly is a beat writer from Alabama AL.com and Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X And Instagram.