Grant Nelson powers Alabama past North Carolina, into Elite Eight

LOS ANGELES – Mark Sears saw the way Grant Nelson was playing late on Thursday night.

Rather than extend his streak of 20-point games to nine and 25 on the year, Alabama’s leading scorer told head coach Nate Oats to feed the 6-foot-11 forward, who ended up with 24 points – including 19 in the second half – to power the Crimson Tide to an 89-87 victory over No. 1-seed North Carolina and advance to the program’s second-ever Elite Eight berth.

“I went to (Sears) when we were down there late, and I said, ‘What do we gotta run?’” Oats recalled. “He said, ‘Forget it. Get it to Grant. Grant’s cooking. Let’s go.’ When you have your leading scorer and best player to tell you run plays for somebody else, we used the word Mudita we stole from Coach (Patrick) Murphy with softball. That’s the definition of Mudita

“Vicarious joy through Grant’s great game. And Grant has 24, 12 and five. He showed up. We’ve been in one Elite Eight in the history of Alabama basketball. This dude showed up tonight in a big way against one of the best bigs in the country.”

Nelson sparked a 7-0 run with five straight points to give Alabama a 59-57 second-half lead with 13:56 left to play. He scored seven consecutive points, including his second three, to give the Tide an 82-77 advantage before the final media timeout. After an 8-0 streak from Carolina and a Sears layup, Nelson converted a pivotal and-1 to take an 87-85 edge.

The North Dakota State transfer then stepped up to the line and made two free throws with seven ticks left on the game clock, and he closed out the game by blocking the Tar Heels’ final hope of a victory. Nelson finished the Sweet 16 game with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. He tied his season-high in points in helping Alabama make history.

Nelson became the fourth player in tournament history to post his stat line against a single-digit seed, joining Channing Frye (2005), Tim Duncan (1996) and Shaquille O’Neal (1992). 

“To see him carry us to get this win, it was very amazing because at the end of the day, all I care about is winning,” Sears said. “I don’t care about points or all the accolades. At this time of the season, it’s all about winning. It’s win or go home.”

It was a much-needed game from Nelson, as the Crimson Tide was down two players because of injury. Not only that, the senior did not have a good start to the NCAA Tournament with three points scored in each of Alabama’s last two games against Charleston and Grand Canyon. But the confidence his Tide teammates showed in him helped fuel his big night.

“Just all the confidence in the world,” Nelson said. “These guys coming up to me, telling me great things. I didn’t start this tournament with the best two games. These guys are saying, ‘Go out there, go get a bucket.’ Really, that gives me a lot of confidence, and I give them a lot of credit. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

With Latrell Wrightsell (head injury) unable to play Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena, Nelson started the game at the four while Nick Pringle stepped in at the five. Pringle left the floor in the second half with a heel bruise, leaving Nelson to defend talented Tar Heel big Armando Bacot, who finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds but was 8-18 from the field.

Nelson recorded a combined six points, two rebounds and two blocked shots in the previous pair of games. Against UNC, he quadrupled his points, had six times more rebounds and nearly doubled the number of blocks. While no one saw this type of performance coming, this is what many believed the key transfer portal addition would be when he committed.   

“Grant Nelson deserves to play well,” Oats said. “He works hard. He’s been all about the right stuff all year. Even when he struggled, he just stays with it, stays with it. I couldn’t be happier for Grant. But did I expect 24, 12 and five? No. Would I have said I would be totally shocked? No, because I know he’s capable of it. But, man, he showed up tonight.”

A first-team All-Summit League honoree in 2023, Nelson averaged 19.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.1 steals per game last season, leading the Bison in every category as a junior. He scored a career-high 36 points a year ago and was the sixth-best player in the transfer portal, per the 2023 On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings.

Nelson may not have been a household name before Thursday night’s win over the Heels, but after his performance to power Alabama to its first Elite Eight since 2004, they know now.

“I don’t think they’re asking that anymore,” Oats said. “Maybe in the middle of the game, but by now they shouldn’t be asking anymore.”

Not a member, Alabama fans? Join BOL today!

Have you subscribed to BamaOnLine.com yet? You can sign up for ONE MONTH of premium access to our Alabama coverage for just $11.99! Be able to read all of BOL’s premium articles and nuggets covering Alabama sports and recruiting and also join thousands of other Crimson Tide fans around the globe on the BOL Round Table message board! CLICK HERE!