Heels Prepared for Very Different Bama Approach

LOS ANGELES – Alabama isn’t like many, if any, other teams in college basketball.

The Crimson Tide's offensive approach is almost as unique as the triple option is in football. Almost.

There’s only so much room for variation in basketball, and Nate Oats’ team is about as atypical as they come. The Tide like to run, play fast, shoot fast, and score a ton. And they do it usually only using certain parts of the floor.

Perhaps, like the character Willie Mays Hays in Major League, who had to do push-ups each time he hit a pop up, Oats' team also does each time they take a mid-range shot. That’s obviously a bit of a stretch, but the point should be understood.

“From an offensive standpoint, it's straightforward and clear,” North Carolina Coach Hubert Davis said Wednesday inside Crypto.com Arena. “They're trying to get 3s, layups, and dunks and free throws. And they've got the personnel to be able to do it. Great guard play, size at the four and the five positions that can shoot 3s and can finish around the basket.”

Davis’ team takes on Oats’ high-octane club Thursday night in the Sweet 16 in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. For one of the few times it can ever happen, fast-paced tempo is being applied more to a team North Carolina is playing rather than North Carolina.

The Tar Heels (29-7) are all about running up and down the floor. The program’s decades-long pride in its transition game annually ranking among the best in the nation is part of its brand. And the current, top-seed, Tar Heels are no exception.

They rank 41st nationally in adjusted tempo and 35th in average possession length. By comparison, Carolina’s last national championship team, in 2017, was No. 40 and 25 in adjusted tempo and possession length, respectively.

Alabama, however, is No. 8 in adjusted tempo and No. 3 in average possession time, at just 14.5 seconds each time it has the ball. Basketball is basketball, especially at this juncture of the big dance. But even the Heels have spent considerable time focusing directly on Alabama’s pace and approach.

“It’s something that obviously you prepare for and you practice,” said graduate guard Cormac Ryan, who scored 29 points leading Notre Dame past Alabama in the NCAA Tournament two years ago.

“Part of the beauty of this tournament is you face all types of different teams… Our ability to execute and trust our game plan is going to be huge the same way it’s been huge all year. The ACC is a league that has a lot of different styles of play, and that’s something that I think benefits us is being able to change gears quickly during league play.”

Carolina has played six games against teams in the top 50 nationally in quickest average possession times, going 5-1. The wins are over Florida State and Miami twice each, and Tennessee, and the loss was by four points to Kentucky on a neutral floor.

In addition, with Alabama (23-11) fourth in the nation in average 3-point attempts per game with 30.1, it’s worth noting UNC is 4-1 in games against teams that are among the top 50 most prolific perimeter shooting squads in the nation. The lone loss was in overtime to Villanova in The Bahamas in November.

The Crimson Tide, as noted, aren’t just a bunch of chuckers. There is a clear method to the madness, and if they can get layups at the rim every time down the court, they will. The approach stresses opposing defenses, a reason Alabama has scored 90 or more points 19 times this season, ten times passing the century mark. It leads the nation averaging 90.7 points per game.

“I think the biggest challenge is defensive principles,” UNC junior forward Harrison Ingram said. “A lot of times a guard, whenever they come off a screen, they’ll shoot a floater when they’re open. But for them it’s about keeping man on body…

“And in transition, the weirdest thing is they run for threes, they run to corners, wings and top of the key instead of running for layups.”

Check Carolina’s scouting box, the Heels have taken that step. The next one is to actually play Alabama, and perhaps even beat the Tide at their own game.