TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 14/13 Alabama men’s basketball team fell to No. 4/4 Tennessee, 81-74, Saturday night inside Coleman Coliseum. The Crimson Tide held a seven-point lead midway through the second half, however, the Volunteers would use a 14-4 run to regain the lead and go on to the road win.
Alabama (20-9, 12-4 SEC) used a 29-12 run that spanned halftime that turned a 39-29 UA deficit into a 58-51 lead with 13:42 remaining. However, Tennessee’s Jonas Aidoo would score six points during the game-changing run that gave the Vols a 65-62 lead with just under six minutes remaining. The Tide cut the lead to one point, 70-69, at the 2:48 mark but would not be able to regain the lead down the stretch.
UA’s Mark Sears led all scoring with 22 points to go along with a team-best six assists. Aaron Estrada collected 16 points and eight boards, with Nick Pringle chipping in with 13 and a team-high nine rebounds.
Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) was led by Zakai Zeigler’s 18 points, while Josiah-Jordan James had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame Comments
“It was not the outcome that we were looking for. I have to thank the fans for the amazing atmosphere today. It was great to have College GameDay here to show where our program is going and what we are doing over here. We would’ve loved to have the regular season SEC Championship. But it is out of our hands now, we still get a shot at it, but we are fighting for a share of it now.
It was disappointing. They (Tennessee) are a tough veteran team. They cut it down to seven midway through the second half when (Dalton) Knecht was in foul trouble, and it carried down and other guys stepped up and made big shots. We did a fairly good job on Knecht, but the other guys stepped up and had some big nights.
We have to get our guys back together. Florida was an overtime game here and it is not going to be easy playing down there. But we will try to win two and go out on a good note this week.”
TEAM STATS
- The loss snapped the Crimson Tide’s 16-game home winning streak vs. SEC teams
- Alabama’s two lowest point totals in SEC play have come against the Volunteers (71 at Tennessee and 74 tonight)
- The Tide had scored at least 80 points in nine straight contests entering tonight
- Alabama’s 41 first-half points is the most points scored in the first half against Tennessee in the Nate Oats Era
- The statistics were fairly even, however, the Tide had 12 turnovers compared to six for the Vols which resulted in Tennessee owning a 17-9 lead in points off turnovers
- Alabama shot just 38 percent (23-60) from the floor, 24 percent (9-37) from range and 76 percent (19-25) from the charity stripe
- In comparison, Tennessee shot 36 percent (24-66) from the field, 30 percent (12-40) from deep and 72 percent (21-29) from the line
FIRST HALF
- Tennessee led for a majority of the opening stanza, taking its biggest lead of the contest, 23-12, at the 10:53 mark
- The Crimson Tide scored 12 straight points over the final 2:50 of the half, turning a 10-point deficit into a two-point lead as the teams headed into the break (41-39)
- Both Mark Sears (12 pts) and Aaron Estrada (11 pts) led Alabama at the Half with double figures
- UA held Tennessee’s Knecht to just seven points in the first half
SECOND HALF
- The Tide would continue to grow the lead to its largest of the game at seven, 58-51, with just over 13 minutes remaining
- Alabama would go on to miss 16 of the next 17 shots from the field as Tennessee slowly extended its lead
- After UA cut the lead to one, 70-69, UT would score nine of the game’s next 12 points to seal the victory and the series sweep
UP NEXT
- Alabama heads to Gainesville, Fla., next Tuesday to take on the Florida Gators inside the Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O’Connell Center
- The Tide’s final regular season road game is slated for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff and will air live on ESPN
- In its first matchup of the season, the Crimson Tide outlasted the Gators 98-93 in an overtime thriller inside Coleman Coliseum
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Gallery: (3-2-2024) 03-02-24 MBB vs Tennessee
