Alabama isn’t coming home from Portland, Ore., with a trophy but it did notch a pair of ranked wins during this weekend’s Phil Knight Invitational. The No. 18 ranked Crimson Tide wrapped up the tournament Sunday with a 103-101 victory over No. 1 North Carolina in four overtimes.
With Alabama leading 102-101, Charles Bediako was called for goaltending with 8.9 seconds remaining, allowing UNC to go ahead. However, the call was reversed upon review, giving the Crimson Tide the ball back with the lead.
Alabama proceeded to give North Carolina another chance as it tossed the ensuing inbounds pass out of bounds. However, Charles Bediako stole UNC’s inbound pass before Jaden Bradley hit 1 of 2 free throws at the other end. North Carolina had one final chance to win but was unable to convert on its final shot of the game.
Alabama (6-1) went 2-1 in the tournament, beating No. 12 Michigan State on Thursday before suffering its first loss of the season with a defeat to No. 20 UConn on Friday. North Carolina (5-2) is set to lose its top ranking this week after falling to Iowa State and Alabama while beating Portland.
Sunday's win marked Alabama's first victory over a top-ranked team since 2004 when it knocked out Stanford in the NCAA Tournament. It was the Crimson Tide's first win over UNC since 1989.
Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s win.
Alabama wins despite a poor showing from Miller
Until Sunday, Alabama leaned heavily on forward Brandon Miller. The five-star freshman recorded double-digit scoring in each of his first six games with the Crimson Tide, topping 20 points on three occasions.
Sunday, Miller went missing, recording 14 points on 4 of 21 shooting while pulling in a season-low seven rebounds. He shot 0-for-5 in the first half, heading into the break without any points or rebounds.
The freshman’s struggles were coupled with early foul trouble as he picked up his third foul with 3:47 remaining in the first half before being whistled a fourth time with 16:03 remaining in the game.
With its star forward out of the picture, Alabama turned to another newcomer to spark its offense. Ohio transfer Mark Sears scored 24 points, including 14 in the first half when Miller was relegated to the bench. Sears was 8 of 13 from the floor and 7 of 11 from beyond the arc. He also recorded five rebounds and five assists on the day.
"Sears was huge," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "We needed someone to score it for us with Brandon struggling. They did a great job on Brandon. It definitely wasn't Brandon's night, so for us to get a win when Brandon struggled as much as he did — I thought we needed some guys to step up, and Sears stepped up and made some big shots."
Jahvon Quinerly also provided a season-high 21 points while logging 44 minutes off the bench. Bediako also came up big, recording his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 16 rebounds. The sophomore center recorded 8 points and eight rebounds over the four overtime periods, coming up key on several occasions late in the game.
Clowney leaves with a lower-body injury
If Miller’s struggles weren’t enough, Alabama was also without another one of its star freshmen for much of the game. Forward Noah Clowney left the game with 16:38 in the first half after landing awkwardly on the floor following a missed dunk.
Clowney was helped off the court before making it to Alabama’s locker room under his own power. According to the ESPN broadcast, he sufferred a lower-body contusion. While he returned to the Crimson Tide’s bench, he did not return to the floor following the injury.
Without its top two rebounds in Miller and Clowney for much of the game, Alabama struggled to score down low, allowing North Carolina to have a 54-40 advantage in the paint.
Alabama had several chances to end the game early
Alabama had four chances to win the game on the final shot but was unable to capitalize on any of them, turning to Quinerly each time.
The senior missed a potential game-winning jumper from the paint at the end of regulation before losing the ball while driving the hoop on Alabama’s final possession of the first overtime. With the game tied and 28 seconds remaining in double overtime, Quinerly dribbled the clock down before driving to the basket where he was blocked with two seconds remaining.
With the game tied and three seconds remaining in the third overtime, Alabama tried to turn to Quinerly again, but Jaden Bradley’s inbound pass sailed over his head. North Carolina was unable to capitalize after taking over, sending the game to a fourth extra period.
"It seems like there were a few times where we had opportunities where we could have won it," Oats said. "We missed a shot, missed a rebound, whatever. We had to pick guys back up like, 'Here we go, we've got another five minutes. It got to the point like, all right, this is fun. This is why we do this, so we can coach more basketball, play more basketball. Let's make this thing as fun as we can. It's a lot more fun if you get a win."
