Alabama
No. 14/13 Alabama Falls to No. 4/4 Tennessee, 81-74 – University of Alabama Athletics
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
For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on X, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on X and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Alabama
Alabama community rallies to save Ringo, an injured dog looking for a home: ‘Full of hope’
Ringo, an abandoned puppy that was dropped off at the Madison Police Department earlier this week, will get the surgery he needs thanks to an outpouring of donations from the city’s residents.
On Dec. 9, the Madison Police Department said in a Facebook post it was trying to raise $2,000 so Ringo could get an injured leg amputated.
“Citizens of Madison, we need your help. Recently, an abandoned and abused puppy was brought to us—sweet, loving, and still full of hope despite what he’s been through,” the post said.
“To give him the chance at a healthy, happy life, he needs a surgery to amputate an injured leg. Once he recovers, he’ll be ready for adoption and would make an incredible addition to a loving Madison family—just in time for Christmas.”
Just three days later, the department said in an update that they’d raised the money they needed, and Ringo would get his surgery in the middle of January.
During a vet visit, the pup was given a clean bill of health and all his required shots.
“We completely met the goal and could not have done it without the help of all our citizens here so we greatly appreciate everything you guys donated for him,” an update video said.
Now the police department is asking for the community to step up again and help get Ringo adopted before his surgery.
“Our next thing we can do is have him adopted. He is ready to go into somebody’s home so he can get acclimated and ready to go before his surgery,” the post said.
Anyone interested in adopting Ringo is asked to call Madison’s Animal Control at 256-772-5694.
Alabama
BamaCentral Courtside From Arizona’s 96-75 Win Over Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — No. 12 Alabama fell to No. 1 Arizona in Legacy Arena in the fifth annual C.M. Newton Classic. The Crimson Tide held a 2-point halftime lead, but got decimated in the second half, opening the first six minutes of the second frame with just two field goals made.
The top-ranked Wildcats went on to claim a 96-75 victory and dropped the Crimson Tide’s record in the event to 2-3.
“They’re obviously a really good team,” Nate Oats said. “There’s a reason they’re number one in the country. I thought the first half we played pretty well. We were down five on the glass and needed to clean it up a little bit, and then the second half we had this issue where we just haven’t had very good starts to the second half. We came out and didn’t have a very good start, and it got progressively worse. I think they scored, shoot 39 the entire first half. They had 39 in less than 12 minutes to start the second half.
“Start of the second half was bad. Obviously, they came out of halftime ready to play; we didn’t. The toughness factor was a problem. It’s impossible – I shouldn’t say impossible. It’s nearly impossible to win a game when your opponent gets 28 more field goal attempts than you. If you look, we outshot them from the field and from the free throw line, both percentage-wise. Free throws, they made one more free throw than we did and they got 28 more field goal attempts. You can’t win games giving your opponent 28 more field goal attempts. Offensive glass we had three the whole game, they had 22. We lost the rebounds by 20 again. This has been a recurring issue for us.”
Alabama History in C.M. Newton Classic
- 2021 – Davidson 79, Alabama 78
- 2022 – Gonzaga 100, Alabama 90
- 2023 – Alabama 101, Liberty 56
- 2024 – Alabama 100, Illinois 87
- 2025 – Arizona 96, Alabama 75
Watch the above video as BamaCentral writers Katie Windham, Hunter De Siver, and Will Miller, provide thoughts and takeaways from the Alabama men’s basketball team’s 96-75 loss against the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. The trio discusses the performance of the No. 12 Crimson Tide and the rebounding issues that continue to plague the program.
Alabama
Arizona vs Alabama Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s College Basketball Game
Even on a neutral floor, Alabama should feel plenty of support from the Birmingham crowd at Legacy Arena — enough to keep No. 1 Arizona on its toes.
Photo By – Imagn Images. Alabama Crimson Tide guard Aden Holloway (2) drives to the basket.
The Arizona Wildcats are regarded as the best team in the land once again and will put that moniker to the test when they hit the road to face Alabama in Birmingham.
Both of these teams will come into this matchup off strong wins. The Wildcats beat Tide rival Auburn by nearly 30 points, while Alabama blew out UTSA by 42.
I break down the matchup in my Alabama vs. Arizona predictions & college basketball picks for Saturday, December 13.
Arizona vs Alabama prediction
Arizona vs Alabama best bet: Alabama +1.5 (-110)
In name only, this will be a neutral site game but given the geography between the two teams and the fact that this game will be played in Birmingham, this is certainly going to be a very pro Tide crowd.
With that at the forefront, it’s enough to shift things and make Alabama my best bet to cover. I projected this number closer to three.
The Tide have the best unit on the floor: It’s offense. The Nate Oats math-ball shot profile led by Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway is kinda exactly what you want here.
Arizona’s defensive profile is more conducive to slowing down your traditional post and big to big actions, not exactly this one. What’s particularly concerning is allowing an above average scoring rate (.93 points per possession) on attacks + kicks along with 1.02 points per possession on big cuts and rolls.
These are two items that are a foundation of the Alabama offense. Their clearest edge is in transition and on the offensive glass, areas Alabama can at least partially control by taking care of the ball and keeping the floor spaced.
In a game that should be played in the 80s possession-wise with huge three-point volume, I’d rather have the side with more proven perimeter shot-making and multiple paths to scoring efficiently.
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Arizona vs Alabama same-game parlay
I started things off here with Holloway to go over his assists number. He’s the primary facilitator on the big cut-and-rolls, meaning he should benefit the most from these sets with an increase in assist volume.
This doesn’t even begin to mention how he’ll likely find some easy ones in transition.
Speaking of transition, I’ll finish our same-game parlay off with Jaden Bradley to go over his points total because of it. Alabama, somewhat a product of how they play, has one of the worst transition defenses in the country, and Bradley may be the best transition scoring option on the floor.
Arizona vs Alabama SGP
- Aden Holloway Over 4.5 assists
- Jaden Bradley Over 16.5 points
- Alabama +1.5
Our beyond the arc SGP: Wrightsell shoots from deep
Latrell Wrightsell should get plenty of clean looks from deep given how Arizona is likely to defend Alabama, so I paired his over 1.5 threes with the game Over.
I’m close to market on the number, but with two awful transition defenses, the pace and easy-runout points make me lean higher.
Arizona vs Alabama SGP
- Alabama +1.5
- Aden Holloway Over 4.5 assists
- Jaden Bradley Over 16.5 points
- Over 178
- Latrell Wrightsell Over 1.5 threes
Arizona vs Alabama odds
- Spread: Arizona -1.5 (-110) | Alabama +1.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Arizona -130 | Alabama +110
- Over/Under: Over 178 (-110) | Under 178 (-110)
Arizona vs Alabama betting trend to know
Arizona has hit the 1H Moneyline in 29 of their last 37 games (+21.10 Units / 1% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Arizona vs. Alabama.
How to watch Arizona vs Alabama
| Location | Legacy Arena at BJCC, Birmingham, AL |
| Date | Saturday, December 13, 2025 |
| Tip-off | 9:30 p.m. ET |
| TV | ESPN |
Arizona vs Alabama key injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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