Alabama senior guard Houston Mallette was able to rejoin his teammates in Newark, New Jersey, ahead of the Crimson Tide's Sweet 16 game against BYU. Mallette had been away from the team after suffering a non-basketball related injury.

“Houston is with us now," Alabama coach Nate Oats told reporters Wednesday. "Houston had a non-basketball-related injury that kept him at home. He was unable to travel with us for the first two rounds. He's been with us now… We came right here from Cleveland. We got here Monday, he got here Monday, as well. He took a commercial flight.”

Mallette expected to receive a redshirt and hasn’t played for Alabama since its second SEC game against South Carolina on Jan. 8. The senior is expected to be a big part of Alabama's plans next season, but will now get to spend the rest of its NCAA Tournament run with his teammates after the injury.

“He's one of the best kids I've ever coached in my life,” Oats said. “I want him with the program. He wanted to be with us. He just health-wise wasn't able to make the first two rounds. Although he's back with us, he'll be on the bench with us. He's obviously not playing; he's redshirted this year. But he's back with the program.”

Mallette averaged 14.7 points while shooting 43.1% from the field and 41.5% for Pepperdine last season. He played six games for Alabama in 2024, including a 10-point, five-rebound performance against North Carolina during non-conference play.

No. 2 seed Alabama will face No. 6 seed BYU at 6:09 p.m. CT Thursday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The game will be televised on CBS.