Alabama star Brandon Miller will enter the second round of the NCAA tournament with glaring questions surrounding his health following an uncharacteristic performance in the team’s 96–75 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Miller, the SEC Player of the Year, finished the No. 1-seed Crimson Tide’s dominant first-round victory over the No. 16-seed Islanders on Thursday with zero points for his first scoreless outing as a collegian. The 6-foot-9 freshman forward also played a season-low 19 minutes in the contest.
After the game, Alabama coach Nate Oats revealed to reporters Miller is currently nursing a groin injury he sustained in the SEC tournament championship game, per Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde. The highly touted freshman led the Crimson Tide with 23 points in a 82-63 win over Texas A&M for the conference title on Sunday.
While the extent of Miller’s ailment remains unknown, the situation will be worth monitoring considering he’s just four days removed from sustaining the injury. Alabama will next take the floor on Saturday for a matchup against No. 8-seed Maryland.
Aside from his status as one of college basketball’s top players, Miller entered Thursday’s game under scrutiny after he was accompanied by an armed security guard for the Tide’s NCAA tournament press conference on Wednesday. The 20-year-old allegedly has received threats in regard to his connection to the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris near the Alabama campus on Jan. 15. Former Crimson Tide player Darius Miles has been indicted on capital murder charges in the case.
