Nate Oats wasn't the first high-major coach to do it. Hopefully, he won't be the last. But the type of scare his Alabama Crimson Tide got Wednesday at North Dakota in what amounted to a homecoming game for Grant Nelson is precisely why power-conference programs are hesitant to create road contests that turn into mid-major Super Bowls.
Final score: Alabama 97, North Dakota 90.
Despite closing as a 25.5-point favorite against a North Dakota team that entered ranked 313th in the NET, Alabama trailed by as many as nine points in the first half and was in a one-possession game with less than 20 seconds remaining. This was a 40-minute fight, in part because Treysen Eaglestaff went bananas.
North Dakota's 6-foot-6 junior took 30 shots, made 15 of them and finished with 40 points, making him the star of an event Oats only scheduled in an attempt to let Nelson -- a second-year member of the Crimson Tide who was raised about 90 miles from the University of North Dakota's campus -- play one final game in his home state in front of friends and family.
To be clear, Nelson was also good.
He got 23 points, 10 rebounds and the victory. But it was Eaglestaff who went viral by banging home eight 3-pointers while (according to Jared Berson) becoming the first mid-major player to score 40 points in a non-league home game against a top-10 team since Loyola Marymount's Bo Kimble scored 46 in a loss to No. 7 Oklahoma in 1989.
As I (kinda) joked on Inside College Basketball on CBS Sports Network late Wednesday, if Eaglestaff has any interest in generating big NIL offers from SEC schools, putting 40 on Alabama on national television is a great way to do it. Continuing with the joke, if Oats eventually picks up the phone and reminds the people around Eaglestaff that he's already taken one transfer back to North Dakota for a homecoming game and would love to do it again, who could blame him?
Either way, Alabama remains No. 6 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Tennessee is No. 1 for the 15th consecutive day. Next up for the Crimson Tide is Sunday's game with Kent State. Less than a week after that, on Jan. 4, they'll open SEC play against Oklahoma, which defeated Michigan, 87-86, on Wednesday to improve to 11-0 and remain No. 25 in the Top 25 And 1.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chaz Lanier finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 84-36 win over Western Carolina. The Vols' next game is Monday against Middle Tennessee. | -- | 20-5 |
| 2 |  | Chaney Johnson finished with 26 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 100-59 win over Georgia State. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Purdue. | -- | 22-2 |
| 3 |  | Keshon Gilbert finished with 16 points and four assists in Sunday's 83-51 win over Omaha. The Cyclones' next game is Sunday against Morgan State. | -- | 19-5 |
| 4 |  | Lamont Butler finished with 33 points and six assists in Saturday's 93-85 win over Louisville. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday against Ohio State. | -- | 17-7 |
| 5 |  | Cooper Flagg finished with 24 points and nine rebounds in Tuesday's 68-47 win over George Mason. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Georgia Tech. | -- | 21-3 |
| 6 |  | Mark Sears finished with 23 points and five assists in Wednesday's 97-90 win at North Dakota. The Crimson Tide's next game is Sunday against Kent State. | -- | 21-3 |
| 7 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds in Saturday's 75-60 win over NC State. The Jayhawks' next game is Sunday against Brown. | -- | 17-7 |
| 8 |  | Will Richard finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 90-84 win over North Carolina. The Gators' next game is Saturday against North Florida. | -- | 21-3 |
| 9 |  | Kam Jones finished with 23 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 80-70 win over Butler. The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday at Xavier. | -- | 19-6 |
| 10 |  | Xavier Booker finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 77-58 win over Oakland. The Spartans' next game is Saturday against Florida Atlantic. | -- | 19-5 |
| 11 |  | Jaylen Murray finished with 18 points and five assists in Tuesday's 74-61 win over Southern. The Rebels' next game is Saturday against Queens. | -- | 19-6 |
| 12 |  | Dylan Andrews finished with 21 points and six assists in Tuesday's 111-75 win over Prairie View. The Bruins' next game is Saturday against North Carolina. | -- | 19-7 |
| 13 |  | Brandon Angel finished with 15 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 79-61 win over Stephen F. Austin. The Ducks' next game is Saturday against Stanford. | -- | 17-8 |
| 14 |  | Zhuric Phelps finished with 16 points and four assists in Saturday's 70-66 win over Purdue. The Aggies' next game is Friday against Houston Christian. | -- | 19-5 |
| 15 |  | Braden Smith had six turnovers in Saturday's 70-66 loss to Texas A&M. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Auburn. | -- | 19-6 |
| 16 |  | Selton Miguel finished with 24 points and four assists in Tuesday's 111-57 win over St. Francis (PA). The Terrapins' next game is Saturday against Syracuse. | -- | 19-6 |
| 17 |  | Claudell Harris Jr. finished with 19 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 83-59 win over Central Michigan. The Bulldogs' next game is Saturday at Memphis. | -- | 17-7 |
| 18 |  | Nate Santos finished with 14 points and four rebounds in Tuesday's 66-65 win over UNLV. The Flyers' next game is Friday against Cincinnati. | -- | 17-8 |
| 19 |  | Kasparas Jakucionis was 5 of 15 from the field in Saturday's 66-64 loss to Tennessee. The Illini's next game is Sunday against Missouri. | -- | 17-8 |
| 20 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with 27 points and five assists in Wednesday's 64-62 win at Virginia. The Tigers' next game is Saturday against Mississippi State. | -- | 21-4 |
| 21 |  | Solo Ball finished with 22 points and four steals in Wednesday's 94-89 overtime win over Xavier. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Butler. | -- | 17-7 |
| 22 |  | Braden Huff finished with 25 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 102-72 win over Nichols. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Bucknell. | -- | 19-7 |
| 23 |  | Miles Byrd finished with 19 points and two assists in Wednesday's 81-75 win over Cal Baptist. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday against Cal. | -- | 16-6 |
| 24 |  | Terrence Arceneaux finished with 16 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 78-49 win over Toledo. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. | -- | 20-4 |
| 25 |  | Jeremiah Fears finished with 30 points and four assists in Wednesday's 87-86 win over Michigan. The Sooners' next game is Sunday against Central Arkansas. | -- | 16-8 |
| 26 |  | Asa Newell finished with 17 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 73-68 win over Grand Canyon. The Bulldogs' next game is Thursday against Buffalo. | -- | 16-9 |
