Don’t worry. Alabama men’s basketball knows it didn’t play well.

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

“We played awful, pretty much the whole game,” said Nelson, a former North Dakota State player. “We came in, we didn’t take these guys seriously. I was telling them, this is a big game on their home court. We’ve got to take these guys serious. They’re playing for a lot.”

It showed. The Fighting Hawks (4-9) battled from start to finish, holding a lead at halftime and even tying the game with two minutes left. Alabama’s 13 first-half turnovers proved problematic early. Then the Crimson Tide (9-2) fixed its turnover problem but stopped playing good defense.

“We got yelled at like we should have,” said Nelson, a Devils Lake, North Dakota native. “I’m sure we’ll continue to get yelled at 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 by 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 ready for it. Great environment. Crowd was great. And our guys didn’t really come out ready to play. Our matchup on (Treysen) Eaglestaff wasn’t great to start. I don’t know that we really ever found the matchup.”

Eaglestaff scored 40 points, making him the first mid-major player to do so against a team ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll since 2012, per ESPN. The Bismarck, North Dakota native kept the Fighting Hawks in it until the end as he hit 15 of 30 and 8 of 18 from deep. Nelson, meanwhile, scored 23 points to go with 10 rebounds.

“Can’t sleep on those North Dakota boys,” Nelson said. “They can really hoop. 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 scouting report was pretty much around him.”

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

“I feel like we let ourselves down,” Nelson said. “We’ve got a lot to learn. We’re going to watch video and see what we can do better.”

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

In the current landscape of college football where players are moving teams more than ever in the transfer portal, reporting on college recruiting has become an incredibly difficult job. But on Wednesday, Alabama transfer Damon Payne and his agency made things even more difficult with his commitment to Michigan, which was voided in the span of only a few hours.

Payne, who is a former five-star defensive lineman in the midst of his junior year at Alabama, saw the field rather sparingly this season, recording just 14 total tackles in the eight games he saw action.

On Tuesday, Payne announced his intention to enter the transfer portal. And it didn’t take him long to seemingly narrow down his ideal landing spot, sending in his papers to commit to Michigan on Wednesday morning according to Pete Nakos of On3 Sports.

BREAKING: Alabama DL Damon Payne has signed with Michigan, @PeteNakos_ reports〽️

Payne was a Top 50 recruit in the 2021 class. https://t.co/zbNnUmDEOH pic.twitter.com/aHiOSZGXPH

— On3 (@On3sports) December 18, 2024

However, just three hours later, Nakos offered an update detailing how the documents that Damon Payne had signed had been nullified by his agent.

Alabama defensive lineman Damon Payne’s signed documents have been nullified, @On3sports has learned.

They were signed at roughly 9:30 a.m. ET https://t.co/c8Bun39fxE

— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) December 18, 2024

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This obviously raises a question as to whether there was an inaccuracy in Nakos’ reporting on the matter, or if there was some loophole found by Payne’s agent that made his signed documents to Michigan non-binding.

Well, Isaiah Hole, who covers Michigan for the USA Today Sports Network via Wolverines Wire, backed the reporting from On3 Sports, detailing in a series of posts on X how Payne had signed but his commitment was voided by his agency.

“This had nothing to do with On3’s reporting,” wrote Hole. “To clarify: Payne signed, it has been voided. On3 reported correctly.”

To clarify: Payne signed, it has been voided. On3 reported correctly.

— Isaiah Hole (@isaiahhole) December 18, 2024

Payne’s agent, Steven Fantetti, did offer a vague clarification on the matter in a statement to On3 Sports, detailing just that Payne has not yet signed with any school and will release his commitment “under his own terms soon”.

“Damon Payne is not currently signed with any school, and he will be releasing his commitment under his own terms very soon,” Fantetti said in his statement.

As for where Payne could be headed once he does commit to a school for real, Michigan reportedly remains on his list of teams he is still considering, along with Notre Dame, Oregon, and even a potential return to Alabama.

[On3 Sports, Pete Nakos on X]

Bhad Bhabie accused Alabama Barker of apparently stealing her boyfriend, Le Vaughn.

In a since-deleted Instagram Story post screenshotted by Page Six, Bhad Bhabie, 21, claimed, “@AlabamaLuellaBarker took my man. … I told [Le Vaughn] next time I catch you. You got be with time.”

The rapper and social media personality, who welcomed daughter Kali in March with Le Vaughn, then declared she is “single.”

Barker, 18, subsequently denied the accusations.

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“I want to be clear: I have no interest in this man, nor would I ever lower myself to be with someone who has been physically abusive towards women,” Alabama, the daughter of exes Travis Barker and Shanna Moakler, wrote in a since-deleted Instagram Story message, per Daily Mail.

Alabama then went on her TikTok on Wednesday, December 18, further denying that she would ever date Le Vaughn, 26.

“I’ve been to her house one time and I guess he was there, but I never saw his face,” Alabama recalled in her Wednesday video. “I’m not looking to wreck anyone’s home or family. I don’t get any cool points from that and I don’t benefit from it all. I also would never date this man.”

Alabama further explained that she later met up with Le Vaughn in Las Vegas and he “continuously lied to [her]” and claimed to be single.

“Sadly, I fell for his manipulative lies and after I told him I no longer wanted communication with him, he continuously tried to talk to me and put me in a very uncomfortable position,” Alabama alleged. “I’m not going to disregard my faults in the situation. There are definitely certain things I could have gone about differently.”

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According to Alabama, she “did try to ghost” Le Vaughn in August, but he kept trying to message her. Alabama also alleged that Le Vaughn said he was “in love with me” but refused to tell Bhad Bhabie (real name Danielle Bregoli) the truth.

“The situation is unfortunate and goes against my morals as a woman,” Alabama said. “My intentions are never to break a family apart. That is the lowest of the barrel. Believe me or don’t believe me, that is just disgusting.”

She added, “Thankfully, I’m not blind to the fact that he’s manipulating her or myself. He’s also gaslighting the situation and trying to turn us against each other when really he was the problem from the beginning. Me and Danielle were more like acquaintances than anything.”

Alabama further “regrets even acknowledging [Le Vaughn] in the first place and letting this even become a thing.”

“I take full accountability for things I did participate in, whether I did or did not know, that’s not fair to her at all,” Alabama said. “He’s pushing 30 and he thinks this is OK. That is honestly scary. … I understand her frustration.”

Neither Bhad Bhabie nor Le Vaughn have further addressed the alleged situation.