UNC basketball's cold shooting ends season in NCAA Tournament loss to Alabama

LOS ANGELES — UNC basketball’s cold shooting in the second half was a season-ending blow for the top-seeded Tar Heels in a 89-87 loss to Alabama in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

After surpassing 50 points in the first half, UNC (29-8) missed 30 of its 40 shots in the second half and the Crimson Tide (24-11) took advantage with some key stops down the stretch, along with some big plays from Grant Nelson to earn a Hollywood date with Clemson (24-11) on Saturday (8:49 p.m. ET, TBS/truTV) in the Elite Eight.

UNC gave up 80 or more points in seven of its eight losses this season, so that was the magic number for Alabama.

Armando Bacot finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds in his final game as a Tar Heel. Cormac Ryan (17 points), RJ Davis (16 points) and Harrison Ingram (12 points) joined Bacot in double figures, but Alabama scored seven of the final 10 points to clinch the victory.

RJ Davis, Tar Heels' shooting struggles

RJ Davis, the ACC Player of the Year, missed 16 of his first 20 shots — including each of his nine attempts from 3-point range — against the Tide. Davis had seven assists, but his poor shooting performance was uncharacteristic in a season that saw him get the Tar Heels out of a hole throughout the year.

UNC'S SUPPORTING CAST: UNC basketball’s supporting cast in spotlight with Tar Heels in Hollywood for Sweet 16

CADEAU'S 'CHALLENGE': What Elliot Cadeau views as a ‘challenge’ ahead of UNC basketball’s game vs Alabama

UNC didn't have an answer for Alabama's Grant Nelson

Alabama's Grant Nelson took over in the final five minutes, scoring 12 points down the stretch to make UNC the first No. 1 seed to get bounced from the NCAA Tournament. Nelson finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks to power the Crimson Tide past the Tar Heels in the closing minutes.

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC vs Alabama in March Madness: Tar Heels go cold in loss