Alabama men’s basketball survived and now will advance.

But for a while, the Crimson Tide moving on to the Round of 32 didn’t feel like a certainty by any means. In fact, Robert Morris took the lead with about seven minutes left.

Then, No. 2 seed Alabama managed to close out the game, winning 90-81 over No. 15 seed Robert Morris.

The Crimson Tide will face either No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s or No. 10 seed Vanderbilt on Sunday.

So, what finally changed that Alabama was able to pull away?

“We put together some stops and got some defensive rebounds,” Alabama coach Nate Oats told TruTV postgame. “They did a great job on the offensive boards. We didn’t rebound the ball well enough most of the game, but we got some defensive rebounds. Got some buckets in transition and opened it up a little bit. They’re a good team. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit. (Amarion) Dickerson was all over the glass. We didn’t do a very good job on him.”

Another thing that changed in the second half: Mark Sears got locked in. He only scored three points in the first half. Then he scored 19 points with some crucial free throws in the final minutes.

“I think Sears didn’t want it to be his last game,” Oats said. “You could kind of see his sense of urgency went way up in the second half. Got himself to the rim. Got some and-1s. Got to the free-throw line, converted and that helped too.”

Plus, Alabama brought Grant Nelson off the bench. After sustaining a knee injury in the SEC Tournament, Nelson was only available if needed. Then he became needed.

He played in the last 8:37 of the game. He finished with five points, three rebounds and one steal over seven minutes of

“When he told me he was ready, I think he sensed we can’t afford to lose this,” Oats said. “He stood up. ‘Put me in.’ We were trying to get out of the game without playing him, but it does us no good if he doesn’t play and we go home.”

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