March Madness is back, and No. 2 seed Alabama men’s basketball aims to make a third consecutive Sweet 16.

If the Crimson Tide can do so, it will mark the first time Alabama’s made three consecutive Sweet 16 trips since Wimp Sanderson from 1984-87. That’s the only other time in program history the Crimson Tide has accomplished that feat.

No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s stands in the way. The Gaels haven’t made it out of the first weekend since 2010. Randy Bennett was also the coach then. He has led Saint Mary’s since 2001-02.

In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Gaels beat No. 10 seed Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide defeated No. 15 seed Robert Morris.

The winner of the game will advance to face No. 6 seed BYU on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey.

Follow along for live updates, analysis, score updates and more.

First half

— Live updates from the game will start at about 5:10 p.m. CT

Alabama basketball injury news

Grant Nelson expressed optimism during the day between the first and second rounds that he will be able to play against Saint Mary’s after he was questionable heading into the first round game against Robert Morris. Nelson didn’t play most of the first round game as Alabama hoped to hold him out and let him rest his knee until the second round. But Robert Morris remained into the game late, and Nelson and Alabama made the decision to put him in the game.

I’m feeling pretty good, so I’m sure it’s going to be the same, like where I’m pretty much questionable, and it’s going to be day-to-day,” Nelson said Saturday. “But I’m going to see how I feel, and it’s going to be a game time decision. But I’m going to stick with my rehab plan, and it seems to be working.”

Meanwhile, Jarin Stevenson sustained a wrist injury during the Robert Morris game then returned. That isn’t expected to affect him moving forward.

“It hurt a lot at first and it was a scary fall,” Stevenson said Saturday. “But yeah, nothing severe happened. We had an X-ray and stuff like that, and it feels good.”

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.