Updated March Madness bracket after UNC loses to Alabama

March Madness is officially winding down, meaning most of us have already had our brackets busted. 

The 2024 NCAA Tournament has lived up to its hype and then some, with several shocking upsets leading to many of the top teams in the nation dropping like flies, as evidenced by the Thursday night Sweet 16 slate of games. That was evident with North Carolina and Arizona being sent home.

The Alabama Crimson Tide (4) pulled off an impressive victory over the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in what was a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair.

Alabama had senior big man Grant Nelson leading the way, who made his presence felt on both ends of the floor. He scored 24 points, adding 12 rebounds, five blocks, an assist, and a steal, dominating the paint against All-ACC center Armando Bacot. But it was a balanced attack from the Crimson Tide – four starters had at least 18 points. 

ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis had arguably the worst game of his collegiate career at the worst time possible for the Tar Heels, shooting 4-of-20 from the floor (and 0-of-9 from three), which didn’t help.

Earlier on Thursday, the sixth-seeded Clemson Tigers defeated the No. 2 ranked Arizona Wildcats in thrilling fashion, narrowly escaping with a 77-72 victory thanks to the late-game heroics of senior guard Chase Hunter, who put the nail in the coffin with a beautiful acrobatic and-one finish through traffic in the closing stages of the game.

Hunter scored 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting, adding seven rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block, coming through for Clemson with timely buckets whenever they needed. But he didn’t do it alone. 

Ian Schieffelin and PJ Hall controlled the paint for the Tigers, dominating the Wildcats with an unconventional form of a high-low style of play as two big men with a mind-melding connection. The former scored 14 points, adding seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block, while the latter contributed 17 points, eight rebounds, and a steal.

Overall, it was a remarkable effort from Clemson to survive and advance to the first Elite Eight since 1980. But the Wildcats making 17.9 percent of their 28 three-point attempts and their top two perimeter scorers (Caleb Love and Pelle Larsson) combining for 21 points on 7-of-27 shooting can likely be attributed to the stunning loss.

After seeing how things unfolded on Thursday, let’s look at how badly brackets got ruined even further with an updated March Madness outlook.

Updated March Madness bracket after UNC, Arizona upset

Clemson and Alabama are typically used to facing off in high-stakes college football games. But now the two programs will be meeting in the Elite Eight on Saturday, Mar. 30, with a trip to the Final Four at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Neither of these teams was a popular pick to emerge as the lone team standing out of the West Region, which makes the matchup even more compelling.

The East Region has been a little more predictable, with the Illinois Fighting Illini (3) and reigning NCAA Tournament champion UConn Huskies (1) set to face off in the Elite Eight on Saturday, which has the potential to be the best game of this year’s March Madness.

Illinois boasts arguably the best individual player in the country in Terrence Shannon Jr., who ranks third in Division I men’s college basketball in scoring (23.5 points per game) this year, and the Huskies have undoubtedly been the top team all season long. It would not be surprising to see the winner of this game go on to win the title.