The Alabama men's basketball team advanced to the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament Elite 8 thanks to an 89-87 upset victory over No. 1 seed North Carolina Thursday night inside Crypto.com Arena. With the victory, the Crimson Tide will face No. 6 seed Clemson Saturday with the winner advancing to the 2024 Men's Basketball Final Four.

Grant Nelson played arguably his best game in an Alabama uniform, as he finished with 24 points, 19 of which came in the second half, to go with 12 rebounds and five blocks in the contest. Rylan Griffen and Aaron Estrada each added 19 while Mark Sears added 18 points in the win.

With the victory, the 2023-24 Crimson Tide (24-11) joins the 2003-04 squad as the only two teams in men's basketball program history to reach the Elite 8.

North Carolina (29-8) was led by Armando Bacot's 19 points and 12 rebounds to top four players in double figures.

Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments

"Our guys showed some character. They've been showing some character these last three games. We've been questioned all year on defense, probably rightfully so, but our defense showed up particularly in the second half. You've got to give North Carolina credit. They're a very good team. They've played well all year.

"Sometimes stuff doesn't go your way. They didn't hit that many threes, but we stuck with our game plan. Our word has been "next," this whole tournament - next play, next shot. We stuck with that. We made adjustments, and these guys just kept making plays.

"We've got a short-lived celebration. I told them they can celebrate about 30 minutes. As soon as the media is out of the locker room, we've got to get moving on to Clemson."

TEAM STATS

• Head coach Nate Oats improves to 7-3 (.700) in NCAA Tournament games while at Alabama, making appearances in two Sweet 16s (2021, 2023) and an Elite 8 (2024)
• With his 18 points on the night, Mark Sears now has scored 750 points this season and became the program's single-season scoring leading leader passing former standout Reggie King (747 points in 1979)
• The contest featured 13 ties and 12 lead changes throughout
• Grant Nelson became the first player since Kevin Love in 2008, and the first SEC player since Joakim Noah in 2006, to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a NCAA Tournament game
• Nelson finished the contest 
• The win was even more impressive considering the Crimson Tide played without starting guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who was out due to a head injury
• After trailing by eight at halftime and outscored the Tar Heels 43-33 in the second half

FIRST HALF

• The teams combined for 100 total points in the opening 20 minutes of action, as UNC led Alabama 54-46 heading into the locker rooms
• After North Carolina built a 10-point halftime lead, Alabama used a 17-5 run that turned a 26-19 deficit into a 36-31 Crimson Tide lead with just over five minutes remaining
• The Tar Heels ended the half on a 11-2 run over the final 3:31 which resulted in taking an eight-point halftime lead
• Rylen Griffen (15), Mark Sears (14) and Aaron Estrada (10) combined to score 39 of the team's 46 points in the half

SECOND HALF

• Alabama began the second half on a 13-5 run to even the score at 59-59 at the 12:49 mark
• The Heels responded with a 9-3 spurt to regain a six-point advantage
• Trailing 72-67 at the 7:17 mark, the Tide went on a massive 15-5 run, with Nelson scoring 10 of those points, to take an 82-77 lead at the under four-minute timeout
• UNC answered right back by scoring the next eight points to take an 85-82 lead with 1:32 left
• UA ended the game by outscoring the Tar Heels, 7-2, with the last five points coming from Nelson to secure the victory

UP NEXT

• Saturday's Elite 8 contest will be played against No. 6 seed Clemson Tigers, who defeated No. 2 Arizona, 77-72
• The contest will tipoff at 7:49 CT (5:49 PT) and will be televised on TBS and truTV