Alabama vs North Carolina: 2024-25 College basketball game preview, TV schedule

North Carolina welcomes Alabama to town for the SEC/ACC Challenge; will the Crimson Tide grab another ranked win or can the Tar Heels hold serve at home with a prime performance?

TV schedule: Wednesday, December 4, 7:15 pm ET. ESPN

Arena: Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Among the many teams in this sport, Alabama (6-2) might be the one that hides the least from challenges. The Crimson Tide have played five tough ballgames in a row and make it a sixth with this trip to Chapel Hill. They lost at Purdue, before scoring major wins over Illinois and Houston, the latter part of a 3-game trip in Las Vegas that featured a tough loss to Oregon. Now the Crimson Tide will look to right the ship against the Tar Heels in the conference challenge.

The major face to watch is Mark Sears (16.0 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.6 apg), a potential All-American who can be a monster scorer but also beats defenses in a myriad of ways. Senior forward Grant Nelson (13.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg) has spent the last year and a half proving himself as a capable shot maker and rebounder for Nate Oats’ squad. Among the other talent on this roster, freshman Labaron Philon (10.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.0 apg) is starting to emerge after a great showing in that loss to the Ducks last weekend.

Even with those two tough losses, Alabama is #10 in the AP Top 25, 10th in KenPom, and 13th in the initial NET rankings. The Crimson Tide once again boast one of the most dynamic offenses in the nation, with exceptional performances this last week in Las Vegas. While this team has yet to have one of those games where they shoot the cover off the ball, they make the shots they’re supposed to make and hit enough 3-pointers to get the job done.

On the other side, North Carolina (4-3) is back home after the Maui Invitational didn’t exactly go their way. The Tar Heels crawled back from an 18-point halftime deficit in the opener to survive Dayton before dropping back-to-back games to Auburn and Michigan State. This team is strong offensively and undoubtedly has talent, but they are falling into some bad habits early in the year.

There’s no question that RJ Davis (18.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.4 apg) is the best player on the court and will have to keep making big plays for the Tar Heels to win these types of big games. One player that really started to emerge in Maui was Seth Trimble (16.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg), the junior guard who’s become a much more significant part of the lineup this season. There have been early frustrations, but sophomore Elliot Cadeau (14.4 ppg, 5.9 apg) has also seemed much stronger in year two for the Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels remain national ranked, sitting #20 in the AP Top 25. While they’re still up at 16th in KenPom, that rough November has them at 26th in the first NET rankings of the year. Their offense has carried the torch early on this season, while the defense has been disappointing. They’ve allowed 90 points in three games already this season and the interior defense and pressure against Michigan State was pitiful their last time on the court.

These teams both know how to score points in a hurry and each can contribute in this becoming a shootout, but it’s clearly defense that will win this game. Neither team has really stood out for their defensive efforts, aside from maybe tune-ups games against mid-majors in the early weeks of the season. North Carolina is still adjusting to new faces in the frontcourt while Alabama’s run-and-gun offensive approach sometimes leaves them liable on the other end.

While we lauded Alabama’s scheduling, it’s important to note that this is just their second true road game and the first one went poorly in West Lafayette. On the other side, this is only North Carolina’s third home game of the year, and you can bet they’ll want to put on a bounce-back performance for their home fans. If these teams played right now on a neutral court, it’d be hard not to favor Alabama, but the Tar Heels can win this if they avoid their common slow start. Whether or not that’s the case remains to be seen, and we’re leaning towards a hotter Crimson Tide squad on the road.

Prediction: Alabama 87, North Carolina 85