Grant Nelson powers Alabama basketball past UNC into Elite Eight in March Madness
LOS ANGELES — For the first time with Nate Oats as coach, Alabama basketball had the chance on Thursday to be a March Madness underdog.
Facing a No. 1 seed in UNC, the Crimson Tide got a taste for the first time in a while of what it was like to try to pull off an upset in the NCAA Tournament.
And Alabama not only tried; the Crimson Tide did it.
No. 4 seed Alabama outlasted No. 1 seed UNC in an absolute battle down to the final minute, defeating the Tar Heels 89-87 at Crypto Arena. The Crimson Tide advances to the Elite Eight for only the second time in program history.
Grant Nelson led the way with a double-double, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. His fifth blocked shot of the night swatted away North Carolina's heave at the buzzer to try to win it.
Here are observations and takeaways from the game between No. 4 seed Alabama (24-11) and No. 1 seed UNC (29-8).
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UNC closes out high-flying first half vs Alabama basketball
Early on, Alabama looked flustered. It looked the part of an underdog playing against big bad UNC.
At the first timeout, UNC was fresh off an 8-0 run with four Alabama turnovers over 3:28.
Then the Crimson Tide locked in and started to stake its claim in an offensive boat race. Alabama put together its own 8-0 run over about a minute, and the Crimson Tide was right back in it.
Both defenses struggled while both offenses had little trouble scoring. Alabama's Rylan Griffen and UNC's Cormac Ryan each drained four triples by halftime.
The Crimson Tide shot a strong 50% from beyond the arc in the first half, but UNC was even better. The Tar Heels went 10-for-16 (63%) from deep before the break.
Alabama actually had a 39-34 lead late in the first half, but the Tar Heels finished the first half on a tear. UNC outscored the Crimson Tide 20-7 over the final five minutes to take a 54-46 lead into the locker room.
That wasn't how Alabama wanted to finish the half, but it also had its own 20-7 run earlier in the first half. Both offenses flexed their muscles at different points.
Grant Nelson steps up late
Alabama and UNC seemed to have gotten most of the scoring out of their systems in the first half, because what happened to start the second was anything but a scoring fest.
UNC cooled off from deep, shooting only one triple on 10 attempts by the time a timeout arrived with 8:10 left in the second half. Alabama wasn't as hot either, shooting only two triples at that timeout. Field goals weren't easy to come by for a while either.
Both defenses stepped up for a while in the second half. The offenses started to wake up late in the stanza, though.
Nelson especially got to work. The forward started to cook late. After he reached a double-double, he only kept getting better.
Nelson had a three-series stretch where he scored two, then got a steal on defense just to knock down a triple on the ensuing possession.
He absolutely dominated down the stretch, making shots, getting stops and making free-throws. He scored 19 points in the second half alone. Nelson even had a block on the final UNC shot attempt at the buzzer.
What's next for Alabama basketball?
Alabama advances to the Elite Eight for only the second time in program history. It will face No. 6 seed Clemson on Saturday (7:49 p.m. CT approximately, TBS/truTV) with a trip to the Final Four on the line.
Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball bounces UNC, advances to Elite Eight in March Madness
