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University of North Carolina Athletics
Thursday, March 28
Los Angeles, Calif.
9:39 PM
North Carolina
29-8,17-3ACC
87
vs
89
Alabama (Sweet 16)
24-11,13-5SEC
1
2
F
Alabama
46
43
89
North Carolina
54
33
87
Armando Bacot
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Alabama Rallies To Nip Tar Heels, 89-87
March 28, 2024 | Men's Basketball
LOS ANGELES— Fourth-seeded Alabama closed the game on a 7-2 run in the final 1:20 and outlasted top-seeded North Carolina, 89-87, in an NCAA Tournament West Region semifinal on Thursday night in the Crypto.com Arena.
With the victory, the Crimson Tide (24-11) advanced to Saturday's regional final against Clemson. The Tigers reached their second Elite 8 in program history and first since 1980 by beating Arizona earlier on Friday in Los Angeles.
UNC (29-8) shot 25 percent as a team (10 for 40) in the second half, its worst shooting performance in a half in an NCAA Tournament game since shooting 22.6 percent in the second half against Kansas in the 2012 Elite Eight. Thursday's effort tied the third-lowest shooting percentage in an NCAA Tournament half in UNC history and was a season low.
Despite the poor shooting, Carolina led for much of the second half and had a chance to win late in the contest. After Alabama used a 7-0 run to take an 82-77 lead with 3:35 remaining, the Tar Heels roared back with an 8-0 rally (including six points from RJ Davis) to retake the advantage at 85-82.
The Tide refused to wither and scored five consecutive points, then forced a UNC shot clock violation with 8.6 seconds left to essentially seal the win.
"I've talked all season about the little details that make big things happen, not just necessarily shots — rebounds, free throws, loose balls," said head coach Hubert Davis. "At the end of the day, they made down the stretch more plays than us. And unfortunately we came out on the short end."
Grant Nelson had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Alabama. Rylan Griffen and Aaron Estrada added 19 points apiece.
Armando Bacot had 19 points and 12 rebounds in his final college game, posting his 87th career double-double to tie Wake Forest's Tim Duncan for most in ACC history and second in NCAA history. It also was Bacot's eighth career NCAA Tournament double-double, tying Antawn Jamison for most in school history.
"Today we played hard and they just made more shots than us," Bacot said. "It's tough losing. It's not easy losing, especially as talented as a team we are. We felt we had a chance to win the national championship this year."
Cormac Ryan hit 5 of 8 three-pointers and scored 17 points, and Harrison Ingram had 12 points, nine boards and five assists. Davis finished with 16 points while shooting 4 for 20, including 0 for 9 from three-point range.
Both teams went on 10-0 runs in a frenetic first half full of momentum swings. The Tar Heels finished on an 11-2 blitz in the final two minutes and took a 54-46 lead into the locker room at the break. Carolina hit 10 three-pointers, a season high in a half.
Ryan was 4 of 5 from three-point range to lead the way with 12 first-half points. Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble both hit a pair from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes, taking advantage of an Alabama defense more focused on stopping other Tar Heels.
Carolina struggled mightily in the second half offensively but played well enough on the defensive end to stay within striking range until the final two minutes.
"They had length and athleticism at every position," Hubert Davis said. "And so when they're switching different types of actions, that made it difficult for us to score and for us not doing the job on the boards didn't allow us to get out in transition."
"Best team I've ever played on," Bacot said. "The amount of fun we had and the love we have for each other, I mean, it was amazing. It's obviously tough that we lost. Because we played so hard and we cared about each other so much and we loved each other so much."
How It Happened
First Half
• UNC used an early, 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead at 19-9, only to see the Crimson Tide reply with an 8-0 run to cut it back to two at 19-17.
• Carolina built another small lead before Alabama used a 10-0 run to take a 29-26 lead. Elliot Cadeau replied with his second three-pointer of the half to tie it again at 29-all.
• UNC closed the first half on an 11-2 run to lead, 54-46, at the break.
• The Tar Heels made 10 of 16 three-point attempts in the first half (62.5 percent), a season high for most threes in any half this season. UNC shot 52.6 percent overall from the floor.
• Alabama shot 48.6 percent in the first half and hit 7 of 14 three-pointers. Griffen (15 points) and Mark Sears (14) lead the way offensively for the Tide.
• UNC's 15 second-chance points in the first half came on eight offensive rebounds.
Second Half
• Alabama used a 13-3 run to take a 59-57 lead in the opening minutes of the second half.
• Carolina missed 20 of its first 23 shots in the half to allow the Tide back into the game but still led in the final eight minutes until a 7-0 Alabama run gave it an 82-77 lead at the final media timeout with 3:35 on the clock.
• The Tar Heels finished at 25 percent shooting from the floor in the second half (10 for 40).
Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a record 18th time and is 65-13 as a top seed.
• The Tar Heels are 8-6 against No. 4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
• UNC is 133-50 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The 133 wins are the most by any school in NCAA Tournament history.
• The Tar Heels are 28-10 in NCAA Tournament regional semifinals, including 27-9 in Round of 16 games.
• Carolina is 16-9 in California, including 5-7 overall in Los Angeles and 2-4 in L.A. in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Tar Heels are 8-6 all-time against Alabama.
• There were 13 ties and 12 lead changes in the game.
• Davis saw his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer come to an end at 41.
• Thursday's game was the fourth between UNC and Alabama in the NCAA Tournament and the first since Carolina beat the Crimson Tide in the 1992 Southeast Region second round. UNC head coach Hubert Davis led Carolina with 16 points in that game.
Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.
With the victory, the Crimson Tide (24-11) advanced to Saturday's regional final against Clemson. The Tigers reached their second Elite 8 in program history and first since 1980 by beating Arizona earlier on Friday in Los Angeles.
UNC (29-8) shot 25 percent as a team (10 for 40) in the second half, its worst shooting performance in a half in an NCAA Tournament game since shooting 22.6 percent in the second half against Kansas in the 2012 Elite Eight. Thursday's effort tied the third-lowest shooting percentage in an NCAA Tournament half in UNC history and was a season low.
Despite the poor shooting, Carolina led for much of the second half and had a chance to win late in the contest. After Alabama used a 7-0 run to take an 82-77 lead with 3:35 remaining, the Tar Heels roared back with an 8-0 rally (including six points from RJ Davis) to retake the advantage at 85-82.
The Tide refused to wither and scored five consecutive points, then forced a UNC shot clock violation with 8.6 seconds left to essentially seal the win.
"I've talked all season about the little details that make big things happen, not just necessarily shots — rebounds, free throws, loose balls," said head coach Hubert Davis. "At the end of the day, they made down the stretch more plays than us. And unfortunately we came out on the short end."
Grant Nelson had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Alabama. Rylan Griffen and Aaron Estrada added 19 points apiece.
Armando Bacot had 19 points and 12 rebounds in his final college game, posting his 87th career double-double to tie Wake Forest's Tim Duncan for most in ACC history and second in NCAA history. It also was Bacot's eighth career NCAA Tournament double-double, tying Antawn Jamison for most in school history.
"Today we played hard and they just made more shots than us," Bacot said. "It's tough losing. It's not easy losing, especially as talented as a team we are. We felt we had a chance to win the national championship this year."
Cormac Ryan hit 5 of 8 three-pointers and scored 17 points, and Harrison Ingram had 12 points, nine boards and five assists. Davis finished with 16 points while shooting 4 for 20, including 0 for 9 from three-point range.
Both teams went on 10-0 runs in a frenetic first half full of momentum swings. The Tar Heels finished on an 11-2 blitz in the final two minutes and took a 54-46 lead into the locker room at the break. Carolina hit 10 three-pointers, a season high in a half.
Ryan was 4 of 5 from three-point range to lead the way with 12 first-half points. Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble both hit a pair from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes, taking advantage of an Alabama defense more focused on stopping other Tar Heels.
Carolina struggled mightily in the second half offensively but played well enough on the defensive end to stay within striking range until the final two minutes.
"They had length and athleticism at every position," Hubert Davis said. "And so when they're switching different types of actions, that made it difficult for us to score and for us not doing the job on the boards didn't allow us to get out in transition."
"Best team I've ever played on," Bacot said. "The amount of fun we had and the love we have for each other, I mean, it was amazing. It's obviously tough that we lost. Because we played so hard and we cared about each other so much and we loved each other so much."
How It Happened
First Half
• UNC used an early, 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead at 19-9, only to see the Crimson Tide reply with an 8-0 run to cut it back to two at 19-17.
• Carolina built another small lead before Alabama used a 10-0 run to take a 29-26 lead. Elliot Cadeau replied with his second three-pointer of the half to tie it again at 29-all.
• UNC closed the first half on an 11-2 run to lead, 54-46, at the break.
• The Tar Heels made 10 of 16 three-point attempts in the first half (62.5 percent), a season high for most threes in any half this season. UNC shot 52.6 percent overall from the floor.
• Alabama shot 48.6 percent in the first half and hit 7 of 14 three-pointers. Griffen (15 points) and Mark Sears (14) lead the way offensively for the Tide.
• UNC's 15 second-chance points in the first half came on eight offensive rebounds.
Second Half
• Alabama used a 13-3 run to take a 59-57 lead in the opening minutes of the second half.
• Carolina missed 20 of its first 23 shots in the half to allow the Tide back into the game but still led in the final eight minutes until a 7-0 Alabama run gave it an 82-77 lead at the final media timeout with 3:35 on the clock.
• The Tar Heels finished at 25 percent shooting from the floor in the second half (10 for 40).
Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Carolina was a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for a record 18th time and is 65-13 as a top seed.
• The Tar Heels are 8-6 against No. 4 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
• UNC is 133-50 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. The 133 wins are the most by any school in NCAA Tournament history.
• The Tar Heels are 28-10 in NCAA Tournament regional semifinals, including 27-9 in Round of 16 games.
• Carolina is 16-9 in California, including 5-7 overall in Los Angeles and 2-4 in L.A. in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Tar Heels are 8-6 all-time against Alabama.
• There were 13 ties and 12 lead changes in the game.
• Davis saw his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer come to an end at 41.
• Thursday's game was the fourth between UNC and Alabama in the NCAA Tournament and the first since Carolina beat the Crimson Tide in the 1992 Southeast Region second round. UNC head coach Hubert Davis led Carolina with 16 points in that game.
Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.
Team Stats
Bama
UNC
FG%
.478
.385
3FG%
.423
.375
FT%
.700
.882
RB
43
46
TO
10
8
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
5
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
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