With an eye on making their fourth Elite Eight trip in nine seasons, the North Carolina Tar Heels are getting ready to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in a Sweet 16 match. Having defeated Michigan State 85-69, the top-seeded Tar Heels (29-7) are looking for further victory.
In the meanwhile, the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide (23-11) defeated Grand Canyon 72-61 to progress. Since 2024, North Carolina has had one national title and two runner-up results in the Elite Eight.
“Obviously North Carolina is really good, they’re a one-seed,” Oats said. “But right now, we’re putting on our greatest defense of the year. We have a decent chance of defeating these guys if we can return our offense to being the best in the nation.
Our non-conference schedule, I believe, prepared us for this. We lost against all four of the non-conference teams who are in the Sweet 16, but I felt like we improved as a result. Thus, as the season progresses, our defense gets stronger.”
With an average of 3.1 made three-pointers per game and a 41.1% shooting percentage from outside the arc, RJ Davis of the Tar Heels leads the team in scoring. Aaron Estrada, on the other hand, continues to score 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game for the Crimson Tide.