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3 takeaways from Alabama basketball’s Sweet 16 win over North Carolina

Alabama basketball secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight on Thursday, beating North Carolina 89-87 in the Sweet Sixteen at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Grant Nelson led the way for the Crimson Tide, finishing with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s win.

The road to eight

Alabama gave itself a chance late. With 8:10 left, Rylan Griffen hit a three-pointer to cut the UNC lead down to 70-67, at which point Nate Oats called a timeout.

The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide had stuck with No. 1 North Carolina all game, never letting the matchup get out of hand. After a three-point scoring barrage from the Tar Heels in the first half, UA put the clamps on in the second, and UNC made just one of its first 11 from deep in the second, giving Alabama a chance to pull off the upset and move on to its second Elite Eight in program history.

Shortly thereafter, the game was tied at 75 on an Aaron Estrada three. At the media timeout with 3:35 left, Alabama was up, 82-77.

The Tar Heels got it back, but Nelson was having the game of his life and put the Tide back in front, and UNC coach Hubert Davis took a timeout with 35.3 seconds left, down 87-85.

Nelson got himself to the line and made the shots.

Early threes

Alabama might have been the underdog entering Thursday’s matchup, but the Tide was going down swinging if at all. Both teams had 10-0 runs at different times in the first half.

Rylan Griffen led Alabama in scoring throughout the half, going to the locker room with 15 points. He hit four of his five three-point attempts in the first half.

Just behind him was Mark Sears, who scored 14 and made two of three attempts from beyond the arc. Sears finished the half just one point away from tying Alabama’s all-time single season scoring record, which he would break in the second half.

Overall, Alabama hit seven of its 14 attempts from three, a solid mark. Unfortunately for the Tide, it was outdone by North Carolina, which made 10 of its 16 from deep.

Those extra threes were the difference. Alabama led multiple times in the first half, but the Tar Heels came on late, with Harrison Ingram and former Alabama player Cormac Ryan tied for the team lead in scoring, getting 12 points each.

At the break, UNC led 54-46.

Looking ahead

With the victory, Alabama equaled its best run ever in the NCAA Tournament. The Crimson Tide’s lone previous Elite Eight run came under head coach Mark Gottfried in in 2004.

The Crimson Tide will face another team that pulled off an upset on Thursday. Clemson, the No. 6 seed in the West region, beat No. 2 Arizona just before Alabama’s game at Crypto.com Arena.

The Tigers beat the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa early in the 2023-24 regular season. Clemson took that one 85-77.

Clemson beat No. 11 seed New Mexico in the first round of the tournament. The Tigers then scored their first upset of the event, beating out No. 3 Baylor.

The Tide and Tigers will meet on Saturday in the Elite Eight game at the same venue, for a chance to move on to the Final Four in Phoenix. CBS announced during Thursday’s game that Saturday’s matchup is scheduled for approximately 7:50 p.m. CT on TBS and TruTV.

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Mark Sears breaks Alabama’s single-season scoring record

Mark Sears broke Alabama basketball’s program single-season scoring record on Thursday. Sears had entered the Crimson Tide’s matchup with North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen just 15 points short of Reggie King’s 747.

The guard from Muscle Shoals broke the record to start the second half with a layup. The points cut a North Carolina lead down to 54-48.

King’s record came during the 1978-79 season. He remains Alabama’s all-time total points-scoring leader, with 2,169.

Sears has been a major contributor in Alabama’s run this season. The Crimson Tide has struggled defensively, but has relied on an explosive offense to win games.

The guard passed Brandon Miller for second on the single-season scoring list in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Charleston. Miller scored 693 points during the 2022-23 season, before being drafted by the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.

Sears began his college basketball career at Ohio before transferring to Alabama ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. He earned multiple all-American honors this season.

Alabama won its first two games of the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, beating Charleston and Grand Canyon to make the Sweet Sixteen. If the Crimson Tide beats top-seeded North Carolina, it will face Clemson/ Arizona in the Elite Eight.

The Sweet Sixteen game is being aired on CBS.

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Charles Barkley yells ‘Roll Tide,’ predicts Alabama to beat UNC in March Madness

Charles Barkley promised he would use a bad word Thursday during CBS’ broadcast of the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.

As it turns out, Alabama is the word, but it took it further than anyone anticipated.

He gave a “Roll Tide” and did so with a little country twang.

Auburn fans may need to sit down.

To put it in perspective, the former NBA star has always said he would root for Afghanistan over Alabama, so there is no love lost there.

However, he was simply picking who he thought would win Thursday’s Alabama-North Carolina game.

The Tide is 1-9 overall in Sweet 16 appearances.

Earlier in CBS’ coverage, Barkley said a couple of things need to happen in order for the Tide to get the win.

“They are going to have to make 15 3-pointers to win this game, but they cannot match up with the physicality of UNC,” Barkley said roughly 90 minutes before the start of the game. “But their 3-point shooting, led by (Mark) Mr. Sears, as one of the great leaders on this team. If they can make enough 3-point shots, they can win this game.”

RELATED: Barkley congratulates Dabo for win Clemson win

Sears is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Crimson Tide, scoring 21.5 points while shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. Aaron Estrada is shooting 47.7 percent and averaging 14.3 points over the last 10 games.

The need for the perimeter game is simple, according to Barkley.

North Carolina is the ACC leader with 40.9 rebounds per game led by Armando Bacot averaging 10.2. Bacot and Harrison Ingram present a formidable front-court challenge. Barkley doesn’t think the Tide can handle the duo.

“It’s going to come down to that,” Barkley said. “They are a very frail team. They can’t handle North Carolina in the post. That’s a huge advantage for North Carolina, but Alabama is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country.”

As you can imagine, Barkley’s “Roll Tide” sparked social media reaction.

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.

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Charles Barkley congratulates Dabo Swinney for Clemson’s win over Arizona; Social media erupts

Charles Barkley picked Arizona to win the NCAA Tournament.

March Madness took over Thursday night in the Sweet 16 when Clemson defeated the Wildcats 77-72 in a back-and-forth game in Los Angeles. With the win, Clemson advances to only the second Elite Eight in program history and first in 44 years.

Like all good sports, Barkley congratulated the ACC’s Tigers and coach Dabo Swinney.

Wait, Swinney?

That’s right, the former Auburn basketball star congratulated the Clemson football coach, not the basketball coach. The panel of Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Clark Kellogg didn’t react, which made things even more confusing for those on social media Thursday night.

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 77-72 in a West Region semifinal on Thursday night.

PJ Hall added 17 points for the sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11), who advanced to face either top-seeded North Carolina or 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.

Oumar Ballo scored 15 points and Caleb Love 13 for second-seeded Arizona (27-9), which had a horrific shooting night, going 5 of 28 (17.9%) 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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Decatur police on scene of deadly traffic incident on Highway 67

Decatur police are on the scene of a traffic incident involving a fatality Thursday night, the department said.

Officers responded to the incident on Highway 67 between Hickory Hill Road and the Wheeler National Wildlife Refugee Center, police said.

Drivers were told to seek alternate routes.

Further information was unavailable.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more developments come in.

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Alex Murdaugh failed polygraph because FBI agent mentioned Joran van der Sloot, lawyers say

Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh said an FBI agent conducting a polygraph test that the agency said the convicted killer flunked asked odd questions and confided he had just examined the notorious Dutch killer of Mountain Brook teen Natalee Holloway, throwing the results off.

The name-check of Joran van der Sloot in court papers Thursday is just the latest strange twist in the case of Murdaugh, the disbarred lawyer who is serving a life sentence for murder in the deaths of his wife and son. Murdaugh adamantly denies killing them, while admitting he stole millions from clients and his law firm because of a crippling drug addiction.

The disagreement over the polygraph is taking place in dueling court filings before Murdaugh is scheduled to be sentenced Monday for the thefts in federal court.

Here is full coverage of the case of Joran van der Sloot

Prosecutors said in court papers filed Tuesday that their plea deal to have Murdaugh serve any federal sentence at the same time as his state sentence should be revoked because the polygraph showed Murdaugh wasn’t truthful about where more than $6 million he stole ended up and whether another attorney not yet identified helped him steal from clients and his law firm.

In their response, Murdaugh’s lawyers included court documents from state prosecutors in his murder case who fought against having the defense use polygraph results that said a Murdaugh friend failed his own test when asked if he was involved in killing Murdaugh’s wife and son.

The Murdaugh results were made unreliable by the FBI examiner who just before the exam asked Murdaugh if he could keep a secret, then told him he had just come from Alabama where he tested van der Sloot, who admitted to killing Holloway in 2005 in Aruba, defense lawyers said.

The examiner also told Murdaugh he believed he didn’t kill his wife and son and asked him a confusing question about hidden assets, the defense said.

“There are legitimate questions as to whether the Government intentionally manipulated the results to void the plea agreement and achieve the prosecutors’ stated desire to ‘ensure that he’s never a free man again’,’” defense lawyers Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian wrote.

Murdaugh’s lawyers said they might have more objections to the polygraph but they only learned about the prosecution’s allegations Tuesday and hadn’t had time to get their expert to review the results. They are asking the sentencing judge on Monday to ignore the results.

A pre-sentencing motion filed by prosecutors after the Murdaugh’s brief did not answer the defense’s arguments. The matter will likely be taken up at Monday’s sentencing.

The pre-sentencing report recommends a 17 1/2 to nearly 22-year prison sentence for Murdaugh on the federal charges.

Murdaugh, 55, is already serving life without parole in state prison after a jury found him guilty of murder in the shootings of his wife and younger son. He later pleaded guilty to stealing money from clients and his law firm in state court and was sentenced to 27 years, which South Carolina prosecutors said is an insurance policy to keep him behind bars in case his murder conviction was ever overturned.

The federal case was supposed to be even more insurance, with Murdaugh agreeing to a plea deal so his federal sentence would run at the same time as his state sentences.

Prosecutors now want Murdaugh to face the stiffest sentence possible since the plea agreement was breached and serve his federal sentence at the end of any state sentences.

Each of the 22 counts Murdaugh pleaded guilty to in federal court carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Some carry a 30-year maximum.

Prosecutors also want to keep secret four statements, including the polygraph, the Murdaugh gave the FBI.

Investigators think Murdaugh is trying to protect an attorney who helped him steal and that his assertion that more than $6 million in the stolen money went to his drug habit is not true. Releasing the statements could damage an ongoing investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Murdaugh’s attorneys want the statements released with agents blacking out any information they don’t want to make public while leaving the bulk of the statements available so people can judge the allegations themselves.

State prosecutors estimated Murdaugh stole more than $12 million from clients by diverting settlement money into his own accounts or stealing from his family law firm.

Investigators said that as Murdaugh’s financial schemes were about to be exposed in June 2021, he decided to kill his wife and son in hopes it would make him a sympathetic figure and draw attention away from the missing money. Paul Murdaugh was shot several times with a shotgun and Maggie Murdaugh was shot several times with a rifle outside the family’s home in Colleton County.

Murdaugh has adamantly denied killing them, even testifying in his own defense against his lawyers’ advice.

Federal prosecutors said Murdaugh did appear to tell the truth about the roles banker Russell Laffitte and attorney and old college friend Cory Fleming played in helping him steal.

Laffitte was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison, while Fleming is serving nearly four years behind bars after pleading guilty.

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Live updates: No. 4 Alabama basketball plays No. 1 North Carolina in Sweet 16

Alabama basketball is one win away from history 20 years in the making.

The Crimson Tide honored its 2004 Elite Eight team earlier this season and now, after a late-season slide and NCAA Tournament turnaround, the 2024 group has a chance to return.

Four-seed UA (23-11) is set to play No. 1 North Carolina (29-7) in Sweet 16 a part of the West Region. The winner will advance and play six-seeded Clemson on Saturday. For now, Alabama gets the Tar Heels well-rounded group — highlighted by duo RJ Davis and Armando Bacot — and a primetime audience (8:50 p.m. on CBS).

Alabama reached Los Angeles after beating No. 13 Charleston, 109-96, and then 12-seeded Grand Canyon, 72-61. The Tide’s defense drastically improved from conference play and Mark Sears continued to play like one of the best guards in the country. UNC and head coach Hubert Davis stomped 16-seed Wagner, 90-62, and rallied in the first half over nine-seed Michigan State for an 85-69 win.

Nate Oats said Wednesday that guard and leading 3-point shooter Latrell Wrightsell Jr. was “day-to-day” with a concussion and will be reevaluated by team medical staff pregame. Follow along for live updates from Crypto.com Arena.

Pregame

–Reporters did not spot Wrightsell with the team as they entered the arena. He eventually was on the court for pregame shootaround not in uniform. The Tide will be without its top 3-point shooter.

STARTING LINEUPS:

Alabama has Mark Sears, Rylan Griffen, Aaron Estrada, Nick Pringle and Grant Nelson.

North Carolina will roll out Elliot Cadeau, Cormac Ryan, RJ Davis, Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram.

UNC leads Alabama, 12-7, with 15:49 left in a brisk first half. Cadeau has five points, including a deep 3-pointer. Rylan Griffen swished a 3-pointer but Mark Sears has no shot attempts and two giveaways.

–Alabama already has four total turnovers and has allowed seven points off of them. The defense has managed to frustrate UNC otherwise, but the Tide is facing an early deficit, with two free throws for Bacot after the break.

–UA hasn‘t scored in the last 2:01 with a 10-0 Tar Heel run in the same stretch.

–A big 3 from Nelson with a defender in his face came amid an 8-0 Alabama run to cut the UNC lead to 19-17.

–At the under-12 media timeout, North Carolina holds a 21-17 lead over Alabama. Both teams have hit 3 3-pointers. Sears quickly found room for a deep ball and got to the line for two free throws and had five points in four minutes.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].

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For Alabama to beat UNC in Sweet 16, Charles Barkley says, Tide has to do this

Charles Barkley promised Thursday during CBS’ coverage of the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 he was going to say a bad word all night.

The NBA analyst, on loan for March Madness, revealed that bad word is Alabama.

Jokes aside, the former Auburn star laid out what Nate Oats’ Crimson Tide must do in the SEC-ACC matchup with North Carolina.

The Tar Heels (29-7), who missed the tournament last year, face fourth-seeded Alabama (23-11) at 8:39 p.m. (9:39 p.m. ET) on Thursday.

The game will be live streamed on Sling (half off first month), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and fuboTV (free trial and $20 off first month), while being broadcast on CBS.

“They are going to have to make 15 3-pointers to win this game, but they cannot match up with the physicality of UNC,” Barkley said roughly 90 minutes before the start of the game. “But their 3-point shooting, led by (Mark) Mr. Sears, as one of the great leaders on this team. If they can make enough 3-point shots, they can win this game.”

Sears is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Crimson Tide, scoring 21.5 points while shooting 43.5 percent from beyond the arc. Aaron Estrada is shooting 47.7 percent and averaging 14.3 points over the last 10 games.

The need for the perimeter game is simple, according to Barkley.

North Carolina is the ACC leader with 40.9 rebounds per game led by Armando Bacot averaging 10.2. Bacot and Harrison Ingram present a formidable front-court challenge. Barkley doesn’t think the Tide can handle the duo.

“It’s going to come down to that,” Barkley said. “They are a very frail team. They can’t handle North Carolina in the post. That’s a huge advantage for North Carolina, but Alabama is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country.

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1 killed, 1 seriously injured in crash on Birmingham’s Jefferson Avenue

One person is dead and another hospitalized after a crash in western Birmingham.

The wreck happened just after 5:30 p.m. in the 2600 block of Jefferson Avenue. Two vehicles were involved.

The driver of one vehicle – an adult male – was pronounced dead on the scene. He was still inside of his vehicle as of 7 p.m. and firefighters were working to extricate his body.

A second driver was taken to UAB Hospital. That person has life-threatening injures.

A least one distraught family member was among the onlookers.

A crowd gathered following the deadly crash and at least one person did a Facebook Live video of the aftermath, showing the victim dead inside of his vehicle.

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The NFL Draft’s Alabama roots: Pick No. 28

The 2024 NFL Draft starts on April 25 in Detroit with the 32 first-round picks. In the 88 NFL drafts, teams have chosen 128 prospects who played at Alabama high schools and colleges in the first round, and another 29 who were not first-rounders but were selected in the first 32 picks. AL.com is counting down to the draft by highlighting the players with Alabama football roots who have been chosen in the first 32 picks.

A pair of Alabama All-Americans selected 68 years apart are the only players with football roots in the state who have been chosen 28th in an NFL Draft.

The Brooklyn Dodgers picked center Joe Domnanovich in 1943, and the New Orleans Saints took running back Mark Ingram in 2011.

Domnanovich didn’t make his NFL debut until 1946 with the Boston Yanks. Between the Crimson Tide and the pros, Domnanovich was in the U.S. Army in World War II.

When he returned to football, Domnanovich played six NFL seasons for the franchise – three in Boston and three in New York, with the first in New York as the Bulldogs before switching back to the Yanks.

In addition to his work over the football on offense, Domnanovich played linebacker, too, and intercepted three passes in his career.

In 1943, the 28th pick was the third choice in the fourth round. When Ingram was chosen 28th in 2011, four selections remained in the first round.

Ingram played in 12 NFL seasons, recorded three 1,000-yard seasons and earned Pro Bowl recognition in three seasons – with the Saints in 2014 and 2017 and the Baltimore Ravens in 2019.

The 2009 Heisman Trophy winner completed his NFL career with 8,111 yards and 65 touchdowns on 1,817 rushing attempts and 2,125 yards and 10 touchdowns on 303 receptions in 156 regular-season games.

The Buffalo Bills hold the 28th selection in this year’s draft.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

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