Nate Oats told Crimson Tide Sports Network at halftime of Alabama’s 97-90 win over North Dakota that he watched his team miss free throws during warm-ups. It was a sign that the Crimson Tide was not ready to play.

Outside of a 20-3 run during the second half, that remained largely the fact as the Tide was pushed to the brink by a fearless North Dakota side that overcame said second-half Alabama run and hung around until the dying embers.

Oats managed to steer his side to a victory thanks to a correction of first-half mistakes and despite an outstanding effort from the Fighting Hawks' best player. Tide forward Grant Nelson also stepped up massively in his return to his home state to help the Tide survive a scare on the road.

"We played awful, pretty much the whole game," Nelson assessed. "We came in, we didn't take these guys as serious. I was telling the guys, this is a big game on their home court. We have to come and take these guys serious. They're playing for a lot. So, we got yelled at like we should have. I'm sure we'll continue to get yelled at the rest of this week."

Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s matchup against North Dakota.

Alabama did its best to spoil the homecoming parade for Nelson in the first half. Instead of the Tide silencing a small, but still rowdy North Dakota crowd, it was the Fighting Hawks that set the tone to start, forcing a turnover on Alabama’s first possession, one of 14 Tide giveaways Wednesday.

By the under-12 timeout, Alabama was averaging just 0.7 points per possession, while the Fighting Hawks were at a 1.18. North Dakota matched Alabama’s pace and hit shots, especially from beyond the arc. The Fighting Hawks finished the game shooting 41.5% from 3 on 35 attempts.

Turnover issues have plagued Alabama all season and were exacerbated in an unusual road environment Wednesday night. Alabama came in averaging 12.7 turnovers per game. While not great, the Tide has shown it can overcome those performances in previous games.

Alabama was ultimately able to do so again but passed its season average in the dying embers of an ungly first half when Mark Sears threw the ball out of bounds while attempting to kick it out to South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood. It was Alabama’s 13th turnover of the half and ensured that the hosts would take a surprising lead into halftime. Many of the Tide’s giveaways were unforced errors caused by dribbling into traffic and a lack of a plan when a player either got off his feet or drove toward the rim into a sea of defenders with no plan to move the ball.

Alabama knew who it needed to stop Wendesday. To say it failed to do so is an understatement.

The Tide did not understand and overlooked the assignment for North Dakota star guard Treysen Eaglestaff. The leading scorer in the Summit League had 14 points on 14 made field goals in the opening period. He went on to set a new career-high with 40 points, practically keeping North Dakota in the game single-handley.

No matter what look or which player Alabama seemed to throw at Eaglestaff, it didn’t contain the sharpshooting guard. The Tide threw different players on him and kept Eaglestaff quiet for nearly nine minutes before he exploded in the closing stages of the final period.

"Can't sleep on those North Dakota boys, they can really hoop," Nelson said of Eaglestaff. "But I've known him for awhile. 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. So I feel like we let ourselves down. We've got a lot to learn."

Eaglestaff made it a 91-88 game with his 40th point, a stepback 3 after getting Labaron Philon to bite on a pump fake. His play all game energized the home side, which battled hard in the hustle areas of the game. North Dakota matched Alabama with 16 offensive rebounds and averaged 1.23 points per possession.

The Tide managed to prevent a scare on the road from turning into a blowout led by Eaglestaff by cleaning up its turnovers in the second half. While North Dakota hung around with its outstanding shooting on the offensive end, the Fighting Hawks forced just one Alabama turnover in the final 20 minutes.

Alabama also took better advantage on the offensive glass, despite surrendering its fair share of rebounds defensively. The Tide turned its nine offensive boards into 16 second-chance points after failing to capitalize on its presence around the rim in the first half. The Tide also got to the line 22 times, compared to just eight in the opening period. It hit its free throws down the stretch, preventing Eaglestaff from having an opportunity to make a potential game-tying or game-winning play.

Alabama’s starting forward got a loud cheer from everyone in the building when his name was called last for Alabama’s lineup. With plenty of family and friends in the stands, Nelson was Alabama’s best player back in his home state.

The Tide needed every one of Nelson’s 23 points Wednesday night to lift it past the spoil-seeking Fighting Hawks. Nelson finished his night with a double-double adding 10 rebounds along with two assists.

Just like he was for three seasons at South Dakota State, Nelson was a nightmare for North Dakota to deal with. The Fighting Hawks simply had no answer for him on the glass or in the paint. He swatted a shot back to Fargo, North Dakota in the first half — one of three blocks Wednesday — and made two clutch free throws to give Alabama a four-point lead in the final 90 seconds of the game.

“I thought he came ready to play," Oats said. "He had the dunk in the first half, very emphatic… Had some tough rebounds. Went to the free throw line and hit his free throws. Got to the rim, finished at the rim pretty well.”

On top of Nelson’s effort in his return home, the Tide also got a few gritty contributions from its supporting cast. Houston Mallette made huge effort plays throughout the second half, including an offensive rebound that led to his own made 3 which fired up Oats on the sideline. Mallette finished with 10 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and a plus-14 box plus-minus rating.

Sears matched Nelson's output with 23 points of his own and Labaron Philon once again had a strong performance in a road game for Alabama with 16 points, two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Chris Youngblood was also in double figures with 10 points in just his second game back from injury.

Alabama will return back to warmer temperatures for a matchup against Kent State. The Tide will face the Golden Flashes at noon CT Sunday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network.