Alabama ousts UNC as first 1-seed eliminated
Grant Nelson converted a goahead three-point play with 38 seconds remaining, and Alabama beat top-seeded North Carolina 89-87 on Thursday night in Los Angeles to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.
Nelson finished with a season-high 24 points, 19 in the second half, and he blocked RJ Davis’ attempt at a tying layup after giving Alabama the lead. Rylan Griffen added 19 points, tying his career high with five 3-pointers, and Aaron Estrada also scored 19 for the fourthseeded Crimson Tide (24-11).
The Tide face sixth-seeded Clemson on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.
After Nelson blocked Davis’ shot with 25 seconds left, Davis furiously dribbled around before missing a layup and the Tar Heels got called for a shotclock violation with 8 seconds left. They were forced to foul, sending Nelson to the line. He calmly made both for an 89-85 lead.
Armando Bacot scored inside with 1 second left, leaving North Carolina trailing 89-87. The Tar Heels fouled Nelson again with 0.9 seconds left. He missed both and time expired on the blue-blood Tar Heels, who own six national championships.
Bacot finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for UNC (29-8). Cormac Ryan had 17 points and made five 3-pointers and Davis had 16 points.
Clemson 77, Arizona 72
In Los Angeles, Chase Hunter scored 18 points and converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining, and Clemson advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, beating Arizona in a West Region semifinal.
PJ Hall added 17 points for the sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11), who advanced to face No. 4 seed Alabama.
Clemson last reached the final eight in 1980, when there were 48 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Brad Brownell was making his second appearance in the second weekend of March Madness in his 14 seasons with the Tigers.
Jaden Bradley scored 18 points, Oumar Ballo had 15 and Caleb Love 13 for secondseeded Arizona (27-9), which had a horrific shooting night, going 5 of 28 (17.9 percent) from 3-point range. Love missed all nine of his attempts beyond the arc as the Wildcats failed to reach the Elite Eight for the 12th time overall and first time since 2015.
Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd was ousted in the Sweet 16 for the second time in his three seasons.
After Bradley’s 3-pointer got Arizona within 72-70, Hunter put it out of reach when he drove for a layup while being fouled by Bradley. Hunter’s free throw made it a five-point game.“I just wanted to make a play,” Hunter said. “At the end of the day, I wanted to get to the basket, wanted to get an and-one, wanted to make something happen, and that’s what I did.”