Nate Oats said at a media availability on Wednesday that injured Alabama guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is expected to be a gametime decision on Thursday night when Alabama faces North Carolina.

The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide are in Los Angeles for the Sweet 16. They’ll meet the top-seeded Tar Heels at crypto.com Arena on Thursday night (9:39 p.m. ET, CBS). After initially saying that Wrightsell would be able to play in the game, Oats has since walked that optimism back.

Following Alabama’s 72-61 win over Grand Canyon, Oats said Wrightsell was elbowed in the head but “he can play with us again on Thursday.” But during the open portion of Wednesday’s practice (15 minutes at the beginning), Wrightsell was reportedly absent.

After practice concluded, Oats said his status will be decided on Thursday.

“Latrell is being re-evaluated by the medical staff every day, and he’s basically on a day-to-day basis now,” Oats said. “I’m not sure if he’ll be available or not. They’ll let us know tomorrow”

For what it’s worth, teammate Nick Pringle was much more optimistic about Wrightsell’s status.

“Latrell will be fine,” Pringle said. “I think we’ll still have a great game plan, whether he plays or not, but I think he will definitely play.”

The 6-foot-3 guard from Omaha, Nebraska, left last Sunday’s win over Grand Canyon in the first half. While contesting a 3-pointer by the Lopes, he took an elbow to the head and was forced out of the game.

Wrightsell also missed time during the regular season with a head injury suffered in practice. He missed 4 games from Feb. 21 through March 2 and was on a minutes restriction when he returned against Florida on March 5.

Alabama went 2-3 in those 5 games.

Wrightsell had 17 points in Alabama’s first-round win over Charleston last Friday. He knocked down 5 of his 6 shots from beyond the 3-point line — his 12th game this season with at least 3 makes from beyond the arc.

He’s one of Alabama’s best shooters this season, knocking down 44.3% of his attempts from 3. And since returning from the earlier concussion, Wrightsell has become an important part of the rotation.

“We’ve got to get our offense back, we know that,” Oats said. Against Grand Canyon, the Tide were held to their lowest point total since Jan. 20. “We’re not going to be able to hold Carolina to 60 points. That’s not really who we are, and that’s definitely not who they are.

“We’re going to have to get an offense that’s clicking like the No. 1 offense in the country in order to have a chance to win this game. So we’ve made that point. We’re putting a little more time in on our offensive side, trying to figure out how to attack them.”

Wrightsell is a major piece of that.

Alabama is a 4.5-point underdog with ESPN BET. It’s just 4 points at Bet365 (-110). At FanDuel, where Alabama is also a 4.5-point dog, 91% of the money has been wagered on Carolina to cover. Movement in the markets will be something to monitor as gametime approaches.

Related: Sports betting in North Carolina has officially launched! Make sure you’re signed up with one of the best sportsbooks so you don’t miss out any Sweet 16 action this weekend.