VICTORY THREAD: ELITE EIGHT BOUND!

After ending the season on a sour note, an Alabama team that many a pundit had as a likely early upset candidate has made the Elite Eight by knocking off top seeded North Carolina.

The game was played at a breakneck pace from the jump. In the first half, Alabama was doing the things that one would think they needed to do to win the game. They made half of their three point attempts on good volume, played with high effort, and even executed their defensive strategy. Unfortunately, that defensive strategy partially centered around leaving a couple of guys open who have rarely made shots, and those guys made some shots. North Carolina bested Alabama’s torrid shooting by nailing 60% of their own threes, and took a 54-46 lead into the break. Rylan Griffen was on fire in the opening half, keeping Alabama in the game almost singlehandedly.

Alabama came out of the locker room guns blazing and erased the deficit in short order. At about the 13 minute mark, UNC star big Armando Bacot went to the bench with his third foul, opening up an opportunity for Alabama to seize control. The Heels even had the courtesy to go cold from the perimeter for a while. Unfortunately the Tide went cold at the same time and thus failed to capitalize. Nick Pringle suffered what was reported as a bruised heel during this time as well, which he attempted to push through but had severely reduced mobility.

Bacot came back into the game at about nine minutes. He immediately threw down a monstrous dunk off a pick and roll to put Carolina up by six, but Th Rylan Griffen fired back with a transition three as the Heels celebrated. The teams traded blows from there. Out of nowhere, Grant Nelson stepped into a starring role on offense after contributing very little on that end in the first two rounds.

Nelson scored seven consecutive points in one stretch, ending the run on a three pointer to put the Tide up by five with just under four minutes to play. Unable to handle prosperity, they squandered a couple of possessions by missing good looks over the next couple of minutes and allowed Carolina to jump back in front. When RJ Davis got to the line to put Carolina up by three with about 90 seconds left, it felt as though the top seeded Heels would salt it away.

If this Alabama team has shown us anything this season it’s that they don’t quit. Mark Sears blew by the defense for one of his patented drives, the Tide got a stop, and Nelson got three the hard way to put the Tide up two with 38 seconds left. Nelson then blocked a shot by Davis to help force a shot clock violation with 7.7 seconds left to play. It was then Nelson who received the inbound pass, got fouled, and knocked down the biggest free throws of his life to put Alabama up four and seal the victory.

The NCAA Tournament is known for being unpredictable, and few people expected Grant Nelson to outshine Armando Bacot on the night. That’s exactly what happened, however, and Alabama is headed to it’s first Elite Eight since 2004. Win a rematch against Clemson and they’ll make the first Final Four in school history.

Roll Tide.

2024-03-29T04:12:02Z dg43tfdfdgfd