Alabama Basketball Upsets No. 1 North Carolina in Four Overtimes, 103-101

The Crimson Tide finish the Phil Knight Invitational in third place, leaving Portland, Ore. with a 2-1 record and two top-15 wins.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Updated:
Nov 28, 2022 9:50 AM EST
Original:
Nov 27, 2022

In this story:

Alabama Crimson Tide

It wasn't beautiful. It wasn't pretty. But in the end, it got the job done.

No. 18 Alabama basketball upset No. 1 North Carolina in the third-place game of the Phil Knight Invitational on Sunday afternoon, downing the Tar Heels 103-101 in a game that took four overtime periods to decide.

The win against a No. 1 AP opponent was the first for Alabama since 2004, and the first in a regular-season game since 1994. It also marked the Crimson Tide's first win over the Tar Heels since 1989.

"That was a fun one," Alabama coach Nate Oats laughed. "I don't know if I've been involved in a four-overtime game before. I was losing track of how many overtimes we were in there at the end. A lot of credit to our guys. They showed a lot of character — we could have folded there."

Alabama jumped out to a 12-7 lead early, but a 9-0 run by North Carolina put the Tar Heels up 16-12 at the 11:45 mark. However, back-to-back 3-pointers by Jahvon Quinerly and Mark Sears pulled the Crimson Tide ahead into a lead that they did not give up for the final seven minutes of the first half.

In the first 20 minutes of play, Sears was dynamic from beyond the arc, nailing 4-of-5 from deep and totaling 14 points. He also accounted for a team-leading four assists. Brandon Miller, on the other hand, had his worst half of basketball to date this season: no points, no rebounds and three fouls.

At halftime, the Crimson Tide led the Tar Heels 37-34.

Miller’s offensive game finally woke up in the early part of the second half. After hitting two free-throws to give him his first two points of the game, Miller then hit a 3-pointer as part of a 7-0 Crimson Tide run. However, Miller soon picked up his fourth foul, forcing him to spend time on the bench.

By the under-12 media timeout, the game had evolved into a back-and-forth affair with both offenses clicking. However, with Miller on the bench the Crimson Tide’s offense — and defense — cooled down, giving the Tar Heels an opportunity to finally pull away.

A 10-0 run put North Carolina up 63-55, but Alabama clawed its way back and kept it close. With 2:16 left in the game, Alabama drove down the court and Sears made his seventh 3-pointer of the game to pull the Crimson Tide within one. Two free-throws by Noah Gurley then gave the Crimson Tide the 76-75 lead.

With 0:51 seconds to go and trailing 77-76, Sears was sent to the free-throw line for two attempts. He made his first to tie the game but missed his second. UNC attempted and missed a 3-pointer at the other end, rebounded by Alabama. Oats then called timeout with 25.5 left on the game clock.

Alabama tied the game courtesy of a free throw by Sears, and the game moved on to overtime with both teams having scored 77 points.

Three overtime periods passed, each ending like the previous — in a tie. With neither team wanting to leave Portland, Ore., with a 1-2 record the Crimson Tide and the Tar Heels fought ferociously back and forth.

Heading into the fourth overtime, the game was tied at 96. A layup by Jaden Bradley began what would ultimately be limited scoring by both sides, pushing Alabama ahead by two points. Two free-throws by Caleb Love tied the game up once again.

A layup by Bediako gave the Crimson Tide the lead once again, but a 3-pointer by UNC's Leaky Black gave the Tar Heels a 101-100 lead. A layup by Bediako and a free-throw by Bradley ultimately gave the Crimson Tide its winning score of 103-101, but not until after several inbounds errors from both sides and a reversed goaltending charge on Bediako.

Sears finished the night with a team-leading 24 points — including shooting 7-of-11 from 3-point territory — and also managed five rebounds. Quinerly finished with 21 points, six rebounds and eight assists, but also turned the ball over five times.

The star performance of the night, however, came from Bediako, who recorded 14 points and an impressive 16 rebounds for a double-double. Bediako also registered two assists, three blocks and two steals en route to a Hard Hat Award-worthy performance.

"I thought Charles was huge for us," Oats said. "16 rebounds and played 44 minutes for us for a guy that's not used to playing more than 20. For him to be able to stay in for 44 minutes and not foul out is probably a record for Charles."

Miller finished with 14 points, followed closely by Noah Gurley's 13. Bradley was the final double-digit scorer for the Crimson Tide with 10.

While the Crimson Tide turned the ball over 22 times, it managed to hold the Tar Heels to just 13 points off of those turnovers. Alabama also out-rebounded North Carolina 58-54. Bench points was a huge divider between the two teams, as the Crimson Tide recorded 47 compared to the Tar Heels' 14.

With the win, Alabama moves to 6-1 on the season and finishes the PKI in third place with a 2-1 record. North Carolina falls to 5-2 with the loss and places fourth in the tournament with a 1-2 record. Up next, the Crimson Tide will take the week off before facing South Dakota State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT.

"I think we're coming," Oats said. "We've got some guys that stepped up. [...] Happy with the overall team being able to stick through it for 60 minutes."

How it Happened:

Fourth Overtime

Final: No. 18 Alabama 103, No. 1 North Carolina 101

UNC misses a 3-point attempt. Ball game.

Bradley missed his first, but made his second free-throw. 103-101 Alabama.

Steal by Bediako on the inbound, who passes it to Bradley. Bradley will head to the line for free-throws.

Bradley inbounds the basketball, but the ball comes off of the diving hands of Sears. North Carolina basketball with 8.3 left on the game clock. The play is under review, but it looks to be UNC ball.

No basket as the goaltending is waved off, and Alabama will take possession with 9.3 seconds left to play. 102-101 Crimson Tide.

Bediako is called for goaltending on Love, but UNC takes a 103-102 lead. The goaltend is under review.

Layup good by Bediako, and the Crimson Tide takes a 102-101 lead with 26.2 seconds left. Alabama timeout.

UNC timeout with 1:06 left in the period. The Tar Heels have a 101-100 lead over Alabama and will have the basketball after the break.

Layup good by Bediako. However, Black hits a 3-pointer on the opposite end. 101-100 UNC.

Bediako is called for his fourth personal. Love hit both free-throws, and we are once again tied. 98-98.

Bradley makes a layup. 98-96 Alabama.

UNC wins the tip to start the period.

Third Overtime

End of Third Overtime: Alabama 96, UNC 96

UNC misses a 3-point attempt.

Bradley's inbound sails through the end line on Alabama's end of the court, so UNC will take possession where Bradley threw the ball from.

The clock has been updated to 3.0 seconds.

Nance turns the ball over with 2.2 seconds left. Alabama basketball.

UNC calls for a timeout with 22.5 seconds left.

Alabama timeout.

Quinerly makes both of his free-throws, and the game is tied at 96.

Davis is called for his third foul, and Quinerly will head to the line. With 28.1 seconds left, the Crimson Tide will have a chance to tie it.

Quinerly turns the ball over for the fifth time. He remains on the court.

UNC calls a timeout with 1:31 left. The Tar Heels still lead 96-94.

3-pointer good by Miller. 96-94 UNC.

Davis missed his first free throw, but made his second. 96-91 UNC with 2:47 left.

Miller makes a jump-hook layup. 95-91 UNC with just over three minutes left.

Layup Nance. 95-89 UNC.

Gurley is called for an offensive foul. Tar Heels basketball.

Davis made a layup. 93-89 UNC.

A layup by Love opens the third overtime period. 91-89 UNC.

Second Overtime

End of Second Overtime: Alabama 89, UNC 89.

Quinerly's shot is blocked by Nance, UNC misses a half-court 3-pointer.

Love is called for his fourth foul, a charge. Alabama basketball with less than 30 seconds to go.

Alabama calls yet another timeout. 89-89 with 1:06 left to play. The Crimson Tide has one timeout left, while the Tar Heels have two.

Johnson hit a layup, then a jumper by Love makes it tied at 89. Love has 30 points.

Timeout Alabama with 1:54 left to play. The Crimson Tide lead 89-85 and will have possession after the break.

Layup good by Bradley. 89-85 with 2:19 left.

Love hits a jumper.

Dunk good by Bediako. 87-83 Crimson Tide.

Bacot responds with a dunk. 85-83 Alabama with 3:22 on the game clock. Timeout Crimson Tide.

Quinerly hit a layup. 85-81 Alabama.

Dunk good by Bediako, 83-81 Alabama.

Alabama gets the basketball first.

First Overtime

End of First Overtime. Alabama 81, UNC 81.

UNC fails to make a basket, and Quinerly misses a half-court attempt.

Quinerly turns the ball over once again. With 0:31 seconds to go, UNC calls a timeout to maintain possession.

Love steals the basketball but then is called for an offensive foul. Alabama basketball.

A layup by Love ties the game.

Quinerly misses back-to-back shots, rebounded by Davis the second time.

Layup good by Quinerly, and Alabama takes a 81-79 lead.

Miller hit both of his free-throws and we are once again tied. Black has also returned to the game.

Love is issued his second foul of the game. Miller will head to the line.

Johnson hit two free throws to give UNC the 79-77 lead.

Black looks to have rolled his ankle. He's up, but has been subbed out temporarily as he gets his ankle wrapped.

Alabama wins the tip but Miller misses the first shot. Black drives on the opposite end, and Quinerly is called for a block. However, Black appears to have injured his ankle and a trainer is tending to him on the court.

Second Half

End of Regulation: Alabama 77, North Carolina 77

Alabama is unable to make a shot, UNC rebounds but doesn't have enough time to attempt a shot of its own.

Love missed a 3-pointer, rebounded by Alabama. Oats calls a full timeout with 25.5 seconds left to play. 77-77 tie.

Sears headed to the free-throw line and made 1-of-2 to tie the game at 77.

UNC calls a full timeout with 1:03 left to play in the game.

A miscommunication leads to Gurley passing the ball out of bounds. UNC basketball.

Davis hit a layup, and UNC regains the lead. 77-76 UNC.

Gurley is fouled and heads to the free-throw line, where he hit both free-throws. 76-75 Alabama with just under two minutes left in the game.

A 3-pointer by Sears — his seventh of the game — puts Alabama down by 1.

We have reached the final scheduled media timeout of the game. The Tar Heels still lead the Crimson Tide 75-71. It will be Alabama's basketball on the other side of the break.

Layup good by Davis. 75-71 UNC.

Bediako is called for his third foul. Love hit both of his free throws to make it 73-71.

Gurley drains a 3-pointer, and we are tied at 71.

Johnson hit a layup. 71-68 UNC with just over five minutes left.

Sears hit his sixth 3-pointer of the game, bringing him to 20 points. 69-68 UNC.

A layup by Miller pulls Alabama within 4 with 7:15 to go.

At the under-8 media timeout, Alabama trails by 6. Miller has returned to the game with his four fouls, while Burnett is now on the bench.

Make that 69-63 after a 3-pointer by Love. He nows has 22.

A 3-pointer by Gurley followed by a layup by Quinerly brings the score to 66-63.

Burnett picks up his fourth personal, putting UNC in the bonus.

Love hit a jumper, but Sears responded with a 3-pointer at the opposite end.

Back-to-back fouls on Burnett (3) and Bediako (2) give Alabama six team fouls.

Bacot now has 18 points thanks to another layup. 61-55 UNC. The Tar Heels call their first timeout to avoid a turnover with 9:58 remaining in the game.

Bediako missed two free throws, score remains the same.

Four layups has UNC up 59-55.

Layup good by Bradley, tie game at 53. Media timeout.

Love hit another layup, tying him with Bacot for the team-lead in points with 14. A layup by Bacot makes it 53-51 UNC.

UNC re-takes the lead with a jumper by Love, but Quinerly responds with a 3-pointer for Alabama. 53-51 Crimson Tide.

Bradley missed his first free-throw but made his second. 50-49 Crimson Tide.

Black picked up his second foul.

Love hit a layup for the Tar Heels, followed by a short jumper for Black. 49-49.

Quinerly hit a 3-pointer to create a small bit of separation. 49-44 Alabama.

Miller is called for his fourth foul of the game and is forced to head to the bench. Media timeout.

Bacot hit the and-1. A turnover by Quinerly then results in another layup by Bacot, and Noah Pringle is called for his first foul of the game. Bacot hit yet another and-1. 46-45 Alabama.

Bacot made a layup, with Bediako being called for his first personal. 46-41 Alabama as Bacot steps up to the line.

UNC misses a 3-pointer, and Miller records his second rebound. Miller then rings a 3-pointer.

Miller hit both of his free-throws, his first points of the game. 43-39 Alabama.

Nance is called for his fourth foul, a shooting foul on Miller.

A layup by Bediako regains the lead for Alabama. 41-39 Crimson Tide.

Gurley makes a layup, followed by a dunk and a 3-pointer for UNC. We are tied at 39.

First Half

Halftime: Alabama 37, North Carolina 34

Will Shaver made both of his free-throws, and Bradley missed a half-court shot as the buzzer sounded.

Griffen is called for his second personal. Oats calls a timeout for Alabama. 0:02 left to play, but UNC will get two free-throws after the break.

Johnson makes a layup, but Sears responds with his fourth 3-pointer of the game. 37-32 Alabama. UNC calls its first timeout with 0:27 left in the first half.

Love hits a 3 as the shot clock sounded. 34-30 Crimson Tide with just over a minute left.

Rylan Griffen drains a 3-pointer. 34-27 Alabama.

A backcourt violation gives Alabama the basketball.

Burnett made his first free-throw, but missed his second. Black gets the rebound.

Black picks up his first personal, and the Crimson Tide is now in the double-bonus.

Burnett makes a layup. 30-27 Alabama with just over three minutes left in the first.

Nance is called for an offensive foul. Alabama basketball.

Love nails a jumper, and UNC has pulled within 1. Miller was called for a charge and picks up his third personal. 28-27 Alabama at the final media timeout of the first half.

Puff Johnson is called for his first personal for UNC. Bradley misses his first free-throw, rebounded by the Tar Heels.

Nance made both of his free-throws. 28-25 Crimson Tide.

Gurley picks up his first personal, and Nance will head to the line for the Tar Heels.

Bediako makes a layup. 28-23 Alabama with 4:48 left to play in the first half.

Caleb Love hits a 3-pointer for UNC. Sears responds with a layup, giving him a game-leading 11 points.

Quinerly makes a layup. 24-20 Alabama.

Bradley makes a layup, followed by an exchange of jumpers between UNC and Alabama. 22-20 Crimson Tide at the 6:58 mark. Media timeout.

Davis is called for his second foul. However, Sears travels after play resumes. UNC basketball.

Bacot gets a layup, and we are tied at 18.

3-pointer from the corner good by Sears, and Alabama has taken an 18-16 lead.

Quinerly drains a 3-pointer to end a 9-0 UNC run. 16-15 Tar Heels at the 8:58 mark.

Bradley picks up his personal, and UNC is in the bonus already. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels have been called for just three fouls. Seth Trimble misses the front end of the 1-and-1 for UNC, rebounded by Alabama.

Burnett is called for his second foul, a blocking foul in transition.

Bacot makes two free-throws. 16-12 UNC.

UNC ties the game, then takes the lead with a jumper and a layup. 14-12 Tar Heels at the under-12 media timeout. Miller is called for his second foul.

Clowney is questionable to return with a lower-body contusion. He is back on the side of the court and is being tended to.

RJ Davis drains a 3 for UNC. 12-10 Alabama.

At the 14:20 mark and a media timeout, Alabama leads 12-7. The Crimson Tide has done a decent job of ball-handling and has just two turnovers so far. Alabama is also 3-for-4 from 3-point territory.

Noah Gurley picked up his first points of the game with a 3-pointer. After a steal by Sears, he drives down and hits another 3. 12-7 Alabama.

7-6 UNC is the new score as starting guard Leaky Black nails a 3-pointer.

Make that 6-4 as UNC forward Armando Bacot makes two free throws.

Bediako slams home a dunk. 6-2 Alabama at the 16:09 mark.

Clowney walked off the court with assistance, but was in obvious pain. He's headed all the way to the locker room.

Clowney is down on the offensive end of the court after falling directly on his tailbone after attempting a layup. An injury timeout as a trainer and Nate Oats come to check on him.

UNC is called for traveling, ball goes back to Alabama. On the previous Tar Heels possession, both Nimari Burnett and Clowney were credited with blocks. Still 4-2 Alabama.

Noah Clowney is fouled on the way up to the basket and makes one of two free throws. 4-2 Alabama.

Mark Sears hits a 3-pointer for the first points of the game. 3-0 Crimson Tide.

North Carolina wins the opening tip, and we are underway.

Pregame

Today's officials: Gerry Pollard, Darron George, Deldre Carr.

Starting five for North Carolina:

Starting five for Alabama:

Tipoff is slated for 2:30 p.m. CT

How to Watch: Alabama vs North Carolina

Who: No. 18 Alabama (5-1) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (5-1)

When: 2:30 p.m,. CT, Sunday

Where: Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Ore.

TV: ESPN

Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Roger Hoover, Analyst: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Series: Tar Heels lead 8-4 as the Crimson Tide has lost three straight. The last Alabama win against UNC was 101-93 during the 1989-90 season.

Phil Knight Invitational Preview

Last Meeting: Alabama and North Carolina last played exactly three years ago from Sunday, in the first round of the 2019 Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas. The No. 6 Tar Heels won, 76-67. With Alabama trailing by three early in the second half, UNC went on a 14-2 run that lasted just over six minutes. The Tar Heels, which led the nation in rebounding margin, owned a huge 60-31 advantage on the boards. John Petty Jr. led the team in scoring, finishing with 23 points on the strength of 7-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc. Sophomore Kira Lewis Jr. also added 20 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists in the loss. It was his third 20-point game of the season.

Last time out, Alabama: After climbing back from a 15-point first half deficit, turnovers proved to be too costly as No. 20 UConn defeated Alabama, 82-67. The Crimson Tide committed a season-high 21 turnovers, after committing five on its first seven possessions.

The Huskies went on a 14-0 run midway through the half to take control, and while Alabama continued to chip away, and tie the game on several occasions Connecticut went on 16-1 run to pull away for good. Brandon Miller scored a team-high 18 points. Jaden Bradley scored a season-high 12 points. UConn shot 87.5 percent (21-24) from the free-throw line.

Last time out, UNC: Caleb Grill hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 31 points and Iowa State rallied in the final five minutes to stun No. 1 North Carolina 70-65. Iowa State (5-0) picked up just its third win over a team ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25. The Cyclones are 3-22 against No. 1 teams, with the other wins coming against Kansas in 1957 and Oklahoma in 2016. Grill was averaging 7.7 points and had made just 4 of 24 3-point attempts for the season entering the game. But he couldn't be stopped from beyond the arc, hitting a pair of big 3s to spark Iowa State's late rally. His deep fadeaway jumper just inside the 3-point line with 1:40 left gave Iowa State a 63-61 lead and the Cyclones did just enough at the free throw line in the final minute to close out the upset victory. Grill's previous career high was 27 points while playing for UNLV in the 2020-21 season against Alabama. He also hit seven 3-pointers in that game.