North Carolina @ Alabama preview

Fourth-ranked North Carolina has earned three straight wins against mid-majors after opening with a victory over Notre Dame, and coach Roy Williams told reporters, “the big leagues are starting right now.” The Tar Heels hope to find their top form as they begin play in the challenging eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis on Wednesday afternoon against Alabama at Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

Williams has not been totally pleased with North Carolina’s early-season performance despite four double-digit wins, including last Wednesday’s 75-61 triumph against Elon when the Tar Heels trailed by a point at halftime and went 3-for-19 from 3-point range. “We’re a Final Four team,” North Carolina freshman guard Cole Anthony, who leads the Tar Heels in scoring at 22.8 per game, told reporters. “I fully believe that. I don’t see any reason why we can’t be. It’s a long road and we’re not there yet, but it’s early in the season. That’s why we have these games.” Alabama is adjusting with first-year coach Nate Oats, but it showed some progress in its last outing on Nov. 19 when the Crimson Tide held Furman to 30.9 percent shooting from the field in an 81-73 victory to even their record. “We challenged our guys to not let offensive mistakes, adversity on the offensive end, affect effort on defense,” Oats told al.com. “I thought we did a really good job of that. I thought our defensive effort was pretty high level for about 38 minutes.”

TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA (4-0): Anthony is averaging better than 10 points more than anyone else on the team and freshman forward Armando Bacot told the school’s website: “Offensively, we can’t be stagnant. We have to try and get everyone involved. Cole is a great player, but we can’t keep relying on him.” Junior forward Garrison Brooks (12 points, 8.3 rebounds) and Bacot (10.3, 8.5) also average double figures for the Tar Heels, who are shooting just 42.6 percent from the field. The addition of senior guard Brandon Robinson, who suffered an ankle injury in the preseason and has yet to play, should help if he can return this week.

ABOUT ALABAMA (2-2): Sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. leads the way for the Crimson Tide with 21.5 points on 51.7 percent shooting, five assists and 1.8 steals per game. Freshman guard Jaden Shackelford (15.8 points) scored a season-high 25 on 7-of-12 from the field against Furman after struggling to a season-low five in the loss to Rhode Island on Nov. 15. The biggest problem in the early season has been turnovers (20.3 per game) and Oats told reporters: “We’re going to work on it. We’ll attack it in different ways. But we definitely have to get it cleaned up. … You can’t beat a team like North Carolina doing that.”

TIP-INS

1. Alabama junior G John Petty Jr. scored a season-high 16 versus Furman and leads the team in rebounding (7.3).

2. North Carolina F Justin Pierce, a graduate transfer from William & Mary, shares the team lead in rebounds with Bacot (8.5)

3. The winner of the first-round game will play either Iowa State or Michigan in the semifinals.

PREDICTION: North Carolina 82, Alabama 68