TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- The Alabama men’s basketball team has battled injuries most of the season. Earlier this week, three key players with nagging setbacks sat out of practice.

But head coach Nate Oats is optimistic the hobbled trio will play Saturday at Penn State.

“I thought Herb (Jones) looked great today. He participated in just about everything today,” Oats said after Thursday’s practice. “Beetle (Bolden) was pretty limited but practiced, so I’m anticipating he’ll play. And then (Alex) Reese did a lot of skill work, shooting, so my guess is they’ll all be playing on Saturday. It’d be nice to have everybody back.”

The Crimson Tide (4-4) will travel to State College, Pa., on Saturday, Oct. 14, to take on the Nittany Lions (8-2, 1-1 Big Ten), who are coming off a 76-69 win over No. 4 Maryland. Alabama hopes to be closer to full strength in its second true road game of the 2019-20 season.

As Oats said, Herbert Jones (elbow) was moving well at Thursday’s practice, and James Bolden (hand/wrist) did more than he has in recent practices. Alex Reese (foot) got some shots in off to the side, but he is coming off a 15-point game in 29 minutes against Stephen F. Austin. All signs point to those three being able to suit up in the team’s trip to Bryce Jordan Center.

Galin Smith tweaked his right ankle Thursday but should be able to play Saturday.

Even with that injury to Smith at the end of practice, the Crimson Tide had more bodies on the floor this afternoon than it has in a while, which has been a challenge for Alabama.

Alabama basketball wing Herbert Jones

“You’d like for all your guys that are in the rotation to be able to practice and be healthy,” Oats said. “We’ve got three games here in about eight days going into Christmas.

“If we can get through these three without any new injuries and get those guys healed up over Christmas break, I think after that, it’d be nice to have everybody that’s going to play in the games practice. It’s hard to get better, it’s hard to get your flow, it’s hard to get your chemistry when three out of the nine haven’t been able to practice.”

Penn State is the first of three games in a 1-week span for the Crimson Tide. Alabama will also play against Samford in Birmingham on Dec. 18 and Belmont in Huntsville on Dec. 21.

But UA will have eight days in between the Stephen F. Austin and Penn State contests, which gives the injured players time to rest and the healthy players more chances to improve.

“I think it was good,” Oats said, “A.) to try to get a little more healthy, and then, B.) we really got a bunch of stuff up. Turnovers have been a problem, so I think we’ve done a little bit better job of that. It’s helpful to have that many days, but we’re not going to have that that often. Right around finals is when you usually get it, and then over Christmas, we’ll have it, too. But you’re not going to be practicing that whole time. You have to take three or four days off for Christmas.

“But it was good to be able to get back, have time to recoup on a 2-game winning streak and try to get some momentum going here.”

The Alabama-Penn State game will tip off at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday on the Big Ten Network.

Contact Charlie Potter by 247Sports' personal messaging or on Twitter (@Charlie_Potter).