"We can beat anybody in the country" - Nate Oats names key player who can elevate Alabama's SEC Tournament hopes

The No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide upset bitter rivals, the No. 1 Auburn Tigers 93-91 in overtime of the last game of the regular season on Saturday evening to enter the Southeastern Conference Tournament on a high note. Alabama forward Grant Nelson was instrumental in the epic win, tallying 23 points on 53.3% shooting from the floor and 50% shooting from beyond the arc while adding eight rebounds.

During Tuesday's segment of "Hey Coach," Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats highlighted Nelson's importance to the team ahead of the SEC Tournament.

"That's the best he's played in a while -- maybe since the road game at Kentucky," Nate Oats said. "If we can get him playing like that, we can beat anybody in the country. We need to keep him going like that. Now he's a little banged up from the game and couldn't practice today and not sure he'll practice tomorrow. If [Clarke Holter] can get him ready to roll by Friday and have him going for three straight days."

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Alabama forward addresses epic Auburn performance

Before the game against the Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide's Grant Nelson had struggled in the later games in February as he battled various injuries.

During his postgame conference, Nelson shared where he got the confidence for the pivotal clash against the Tigers after averaging just 7.5 points before the regular season-ending game.

“Definitely my teammates,” Nelson said. “They’ve been giving me confidence, and we’ve been doing a lot in practice leading up. And I’ve been getting a lot of treatment to try to get my body right. But I mean, the coaches drawing up plays for me to get downhill really helped, and that kind of got me going and some 3s finally fell.”

Alabama coach Nate Oats expressed his wishes to get a healthy Nelson back for the Tide in time for March Madness where the Crimson Tide are one of the favorites to clinch the national championship.

“He (Nelson) was one of the best players in the country last year in March when we made our Final Four run,” Oats said during his postgame conference. “Hopefully, we get Grant Nelson in March back for another March run for us.”

The Alabama Crimson Tide were one of the best teams in the country before hitting a rough patch in February, losing two consecutive games to the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers to push them down the AP Poll rankings.

Grant Nelson's explosive showing against Auburn has reignited the optimism surrounding the Crimson Tide as they head into the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament.