Alabama basketball secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight on Thursday, beating North Carolina 89-87 in the Sweet Sixteen at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Grant Nelson led the way for the Crimson Tide, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s win.
The road to eight
Alabama gave itself a chance late. With 8:10 left, Rylan Griffen hit a three-pointer to cut the UNC lead down to 70-67, at which point Nate Oats called a timeout.
The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide had stuck with No. 1 North Carolina all game, never letting the matchup get out of hand. After a three-point scoring barrage from the Tar Heels in the first half, UA put the clamps on in the second, and UNC made just one of its first 11 from deep in the second, giving Alabama a chance to pull off the upset and move on to its second Elite Eight in program history.
Shortly thereafter, the game was tied at 75 on an Aaron Estrada three. At the media timeout with 3:35 left, Alabama was up, 82-77.
The Tar Heels got it back, but Nelson was having the game of his life and put the Tide back in front, and UNC coach Hubert Davis took a timeout with 35.3 seconds left, down 87-85.
Nelson got himself to the line and made the shots.
Early threes
Alabama might have been the underdog entering Thursday’s matchup, but the Tide was going down swinging if at all. Both teams had 10-0 runs at different times in the first half.
Rylan Griffen led Alabama in scoring throughout the half, going to the locker room with 15 points. He hit four of his five three-point attempts in the first half.
Just behind him was Mark Sears, who scored 14 and made two of three attempts from beyond the arc. Sears finished the half just one point away from tying Alabama’s all-time single season scoring record, which he would break in the second half.
Overall, Alabama hit seven of its 14 attempts from three, a solid mark. Unfortunately for the Tide, it was outdone by North Carolina, which made 10 of its 16 from deep.
Those extra threes were the difference. Alabama led multiple times in the first half, but the Tar Heels came on late, with Harrison Ingram and former Alabama transfer recruiting target Cormac Ryan tied for the team lead in scoring, getting 12 points each.
At the break, UNC led 54-46.
Looking ahead
With the victory, Alabama equaled its best run ever in the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide’s lone previous Elite Eight run came under head coach Mark Gottfried in in 2004.
The Crimson Tide will face another team that pulled off an upset on Thursday. Clemson, the No. 6 seed in the West region, beat No. 2 Arizona just before Alabama’s game at Crypto.com Arena.
The Tigers beat the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa early in the 2023-24 regular season. Clemson took that one 85-77.
Clemson beat No. 11 seed New Mexico in the first round of the tournament. The Tigers then scored their first upset of the event, beating out No. 3 Baylor.
The Tide and Tigers will meet on Saturday in the Elite Eight game at the same venue, for a chance to move on to the Final Four in Phoenix. CBS announced during Thursday’s game that Saturday’s matchup is scheduled for approximately 7:50 p.m. CT on TBS and TruTV.
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