The North Carolina Tar Heels and Alabama Crimson Tide battled it out in one of the best games of the entire NCAA tournament. It was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish. At halftime, North Carolina had a 54-46 lead before the Alabama basketball team fought and clawed its way back into the game, even without Latrell Wrightsell Jr., who was ruled out prior to the tip. The difference maker in this game was North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson, who caught fire in the second half.

The two teams exchanged blow for blow, but at the end of it all, it was the Alabama Crimson Tide who advanced with a thrilling 89-87 win over the 1-seed North Carolina Tar Heels.

Alabama's Grant Nelson, a North Dakota State transfer, had clutch buckets down the stretch, including a huge and-1 with less than a minute to go to give Alabama a two-point lead late.

Nelson then turned around and played stellar defense to force a shot clock violation and give Alabama the ball back with less than 10 seconds remaining. Nelson then knocked down two clutch free throws to seal the deal and send Alabama to the Elite Eight.

It's celebration time in Tuscaloosa as the Crimson Tide advance to the Elite Eight to face the Clemson Tigers, who stunned Arizona on Thursday in another upset.

Grant Nelson played hero for Alabama against the Tar Heels 

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Nelson finished the game with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, including a game-sealing block on Harrison Ingram'sdespeartion attempt at the buzzer.

Nelson's performance will certainly be remembered by Alabama basketball fans for a long time. Legendary college basketball analyst Dick Vitale was left stunned by Nelson's performance with a response on X:

“Wow what a fantastic game btw @AlabamaMBB & @UNC_Basketball. The 2nd half performance by 6’11 GRANT NELSON of Bama was the difference. Nelson had 24 & was terrific on offense/defense. Bama advances to the Elite 8 for the 1st time in 20 years .”

Others took notice, also, including Myron Medcalf of ESPN: “Grant Nelson is the portal story we don't tell. Bunch of non-Power 5 guys who can play at this level if they just get the opportunity. The dialogue can't just be about instability and NIL and chaos. Opportunity matters here, too. Nelson never gets this moment without the portal.”

Jeff Borzello of ESPN said this: “Grant Nelson saved his best performance in an Alabama jersey for the biggest game of his Alabama career. At both ends of the floor. Unguardable at one end, impossible to score against at the other. 24 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks.”

Alabama fans were sent into celebration mode and Grant Nelson might be a national hero in Tuscaloosa.

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Nelson carried the Alabama team in the second half and absolutely dominated down the stretch with clutch shot after clutch shot. On top of that, Aaron Estrada and Rylan Griffen had 19 points apiece and Marc Sears added 18 as they were able to overcome the absence of Latrell Wrightsell Jr.

Alabama will face Clemson in a fascinating Elite Eight matchup on Saturday evening with both programs trying to end their Final Four drought.