UNC vs. Alabama final score, results: Grant Nelson stars on both ends to lead Alabama to Elite Eight

Brendan OSullivan

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UNC vs. Alabama final score, results: Grant Nelson stars on both ends to lead Alabama to Elite Eight image

Grant Nelson scored just six points in Alabama's first two NCAA Tournament games, but he proved to be the hero the Tide needed to take down North Carolina in the Sweet 16.

Nelson, a senior forward, had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks to lead Alabama to a 89-87 victory, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2004.

MORE: Watch March Madness games live with Paramount+

Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen each pitched in 19 points to aid the victory. Sears finished with 18 points, as the Crimson Tide shot 47.8 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point land.

For North Carolina, star R.J. Davis struggled shooting the ball all night, finishing 0-for-9 from three and 4-for-20 from the floor. He had 16 points. Armando Bacot led North Carolina with 19 points and 12 rebounds.

Nelson's three-point play with 39 seconds left gave Alabama an 87-85 lead, then he blocked a Davis shot out of bounds at the other end. When Davis missed again, North Carolina fouled Nelson, and he made two free throws to essentially lock up the game with eight seconds to play. 

Alabama will face No. 6 Clemson in the Elite Eight on Saturday, March 30.

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UNC vs. Alabama score

  1 2 F
North Carolina 54 33 87
Alabama 46 43 89

UNC vs. Alabama results, highlights from 2024 March Madness

(All times Eastern).

12:04 a.m.: Nelson misses both free throws but blocks the full-court heave to give the Crimson Tide the 89-87 win to advance to the Elite Eight.

12 a.m.: Nelson hits both free throws to give Alabama a 89-85 lead. Davis dishes to Bacot for an easy two-pointer as 1.2 seconds remain.

11:58 p.m.: Alabama forces a shot clock violation on UNC and will have possession up 87-85 with 8.6 seconds remaining.

11:55 p.m.: Nelson AND-1! Sears finds a rolling Nelson who draws the foul on the layup. Alabama goes up 87-85 after the free throw falls. UNC calls timeout with 35.3 seconds remaining.

11:51 p.m.: Following the media timeout, UNC has went on a 6-0 run to regain the lead at 83-82 with 2:09 remaining.

11:45 p.m.: Nelson is cooking! That's seven straight for the Alabama forward to put the Crimson Tide up 82-77 with 3:35 remaining. He's up to 19 points and 12 rebounds.

11:42 p.m.: Estrada walks into a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer to tie the game at 75 points with 5:08 remaining.

11:40 p.m.: Ryan with a deep contested 3-pointer on the next possession to put UNC up 75-70. He's up to five 3s and 17 points on the night

11:39 p.m.: Bacot missed an open dunk and Nelson takes the ball to the rim, drawing the foul at the other end. Alabama cuts the deficit to 72-70 after he splits his free throws.

11:30 p.m.: Bacot rolls off the pick and Davis finds his big man for a wide-open slam. Griffen answers with an immediate 3-pointer.

11:29 p.m.: Paxson Wojcik nails a 3-pointer to extend the Tar Heels lead to 66-61.

11:27 p.m.: Both teams are up to seven fouls and in the bonus with 9:45 to play. RJ Davis goes to the line and puts UNC up 63-61. 

11:19 p.m.: There's a lot less scoring so far in the second half as fouls have become more common on both sides. It's tied 59-59 with 11:55 minutes remaining.

11:17 p.m.: Sam Walters knocks down a corner 3-pointer to give Alabama the 59-57 lead with just under 14 minutes to go. It's an 11-2 run for the Crimson Tide.

11:14 p.m.: Bacot grabs two consecutive offensive rebounds after his misses, but he puts the third one in.

11:10 p.m.: Aaron Estrada spins his way to a layup while falling to the ground. He's up to 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting as Alabama trails 55-52 with 15:30 left.

11:06 p.m.: Grant Nelson picks up his third foul with 17:21 remaining in the half. Bacot heads to the line for two free throws.

11:04 p.m.: The pace remains fast through the first two minutes of the second half, but both squads aren't shooting well from the field.

First half: UNC 54, Alabama 46

10:40 p.m.: UNC ends the half on a 11-2 run to lead 54-46 at halftime. Ryan and Bacot lead the Tar Heels with 12 points apiece. Griffen has 15 points and Sears has 14 for Alabama.

10:30 p.m.: Griffen is on fire so far. The Alabama guard is shooting 4-of-5 on 3-pointers. He's up to 15 points, and Sears has 14 points to lead the Crimson Tide 44-43 with less than three minutes remaining.

10:28 p.m.: Cormac Ryan hits back-to-back 3-pointers and then draws an offensive foul on a screen. UNC ties the game at 39-39 with about four minutes remaining.

10:21 p.m.: Alabama holds a 32-31 lead with 7:43 remaining in the first half. Sears leads all scorers with 12 points.

10:18 p.m.: Sears hits the go-ahead 3-pointer to put Alabama up 29-26 with 8:35 remaining in the first half. He blows a kiss to the crowd right after. Cadeau nailed a 3-pointer the next possession.

10:15 p.m.: Both squads are knocking down 3-pointers efficiently. Alabama is 4-of-9 from deep, while UNC is 4-of-7. UNC leads 26-24 with 9:24 remaining in the half.

10:08 p.m.: Mark Sears lets it fly from deep 3-point range to continue an 8-0 run for the Crimson Tide. UNC still leads 19-17.

10:05 p.m.: UNC is getting 3-pointers from a couple unlikely names. Cadeau and Seth Trimble, who both don't shoot many 3s, each have one so far.

10 p.m.: Harrison Ingram isolates from the corner and spins into a sweet layup to put North Carolina up 12-7. The Tar Heels are on an 8-0 run.

9:58 p.m.: Rylan Griffen and Elliot Cadeau trade 3-pointers to keep the score tied at 7-7 with 17 minutes remaining in the first half.

9:55 p.m.: Latrell Wrightsell Jr. is out tonight with a head injury. He averages 9.0 points per game this season.

9:47 p.m.: Here's the starting five for both sides:

UNC:

  • RJ Davis
  • Elliot Cadeau
  • Harrison Ingram
  • Cormac Ryan
  • Armando Bacot

Alabama:

  • Mark Sears
  • Aaron Estrada
  • Rylan Griffen
  • Grant Nelson
  • Nick Pringle

9:31 p.m.: No. 1 UNC vs. No. 4 Alabama will tip off at 9:54 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.

UNC vs. Alabama start time

  • Date: Thursday, March 28
  • Time: 9:39 p.m. ET

North Carolina and Alabama are slated to begin their Sweet 16 matchup at 9:39 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 28.

How to watch UNC vs. Alabama

Fans can tune into No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Alabama on CBS at 9:39 p.m. ET. For cable cutters, you can stream the game on Paramount+.

NCAA Tournament schedule 2024

Below is the schedule for Thursday's Sweet 16 games:

Game Time (ET) TV/Livestream
No. 6 Clemson 77, No. 2 Arizona 72 7:09 p.m. CBS/Paramount+
No. 1 UConn 82, No. 5 San Diego State 52 7:39 p.m. TBS/truTV
No. 4 Alabama 89, No. 1 UNC 87 9:39 p.m. CBS/Paramount+
No. 3 Illinois 72, No. 2 Iowa State 69 10:09 p.m. TBS/truTV

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Brendan OSullivan

Brendan OSullivan Photo

Brendan O'Sullivan is an editorial intern for Sporting News, joining in 2024. He previously worked at Newsday on Long Island, New York after graduating from Quinnipiac University.