Alabama knocks off No.1 team for the first time since 2004

The Alabama Crimson Tide outlasted the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday night in the Phil Knight Invitational, 103-101 in a four-overtime marathon. The victory marked the first time the Crimson Tide defeated the nation’s AP No.1 ranked team since 2004. That one happened on March 20, 2004, when Alabama knocked off Stanford in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. The Tide prevailed on Sunday night in what will go down as one of the longest games in college basketball history, despite Caleb Love delivering a career-best performance for the Tar Heels. He stuffed the stat sheet with 34 points (career-high), nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a losing effort for UNC.

Alabama got some impressive performances from their guards

Jahvon Quinerly stuffed the stat sheet with 21 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and three steals in the win for the Crimson Tide. Alabama was also propelled by the scorching hot shooting of Mark Sears, who poured in 24 points, while connecting on 7 of his 11 three-pointers. He also dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds in the winning effort.

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Alabama forward Brandon Miller found his groove after the first half, dumping in all of his 14 points. He was held scoreless in the opening half. A former On3 Consensus five-star prospect out of the class of 2022–Miller was one of the nation’s most highly touted prospects.

Alabama was torching the nets from beyond-the-arc in the first half, connecting on 7 of their 13 shots from three-point range (53.8%). Sears poured in four of his five three-point attempts in the first half. Center Armando Bacot posted yet another double-double for North Carolina, pouring in 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

Following the game, Quinerly spoke with ESPN’s Myron Medcalf about his emotions since returning from a torn left ACL he suffered nine months ago against Notre Dame. The gifted guard discussed what it felt like to help Alabama to bring home the victory and take home third place in the Phil Knight Invitational. “It’s everything, man. I didn’t think I’d be back right now. So, every time I think about it, I get a little emotional. You know what I’m saying? I’m just happy to be playing basketball right now,” Quinerly said.

Quinerly – a former On3 Consensus five-star recruit out of the Class of 2018 – has been an important part of Alabama’s team over the past two seasons. After averaging 12.9 points per game in 2020-2021, he improved his numbers last year and should be able to take another jump forward this year.

Alabama will now have a few days off before taking on the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Dec. 3. Tip-off is set for 8:30 PM EST.

On3’s Steve Samra also contributed to this article.