With the March madness in full flow, Alabama sailed the tides to reach the NCAA tournament Elite Eight after a Sweet 16 victory over UNC. The underdogs’ victory sparked crazy scenes of celebration in the locker room but the talking point was shifted elsewhere.
In the build-up to the game, the ever-opinionated NBA legend Charles Barkley weighed in on the clash and left Alabama with no chance. Crimson Tide HC, Nate Oats kept receipt of it and after the game had something to say to the former Sixers player.
Alabama basketball HC fires back at Charles Barkley over “frail” comment
After the upset win over the UNC, Nate Oats expressed his delight with the amazing turnaround in the second half of the game.
Before the start of the game, Charles Barkley predicted an easy victory for the North Carolina team and yelled “Roll Tide” in a countryside tone during his pre-match CBS duties. Before leaving out the yell, Chuck said, “They (Alabama) are going to have to make 15 3-pointers to win this game, but they cannot match up with the physicality of UNC”. The only way Alabama had a chance was from the three-pointers of Mark Sears pointed out the analyst.
Getting back to that, Oats had a dig at the NBA Hall of Famer during a post-match interview. He said, “Charles Barkley called us frail. I don’t think (Grant) was frail tonight. He showed up tonight. They stepped up big in the second half.” Nate Oats’ words were not off the mark as Grant Nelson led Alabama to a memorable victory, ending the “who’s Grant Nelson” jibe for good.
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Grant Nelson leads Alabama basketball to Elite Eight
In their 89-87 win over the Atlantic coast top seed, Grant Nelson was the standout performer for the Alabama side. Notching up 24 points, 12 rebounds and 1 assist, the 22-year-old pushed his side to Elite 8 for the first time since 2004.
Aaron Astrada and Rylan Griffen both scored 19 points with Mark Sears chipping in with 18. His 100% success rate from downtown in two attempts and 6 out of 9 field goals were backed by his teammates with praiseworthy efforts.
The game was in control of the UNC in the first half when the Carolina side led 54 to 46. Oats’ half-time team talk about guarding Bacot bore fruits as he was limited to only 19 points thanks to Nelson’s one-on-one effort.
Despite not being in the scoring form in the second half due to the coach’s instructions, Nelson did his part and his block with 0.9 seconds left on the clock sealed the UNC’s fate as the buzzer sounded echoing through the crowd at Crypto.com Arena.
In the next round Alabama will face Clemson Tigers and surely will be a bit more cautious in providing a prediction about the Nate Oats’ boys.
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