No. 6 Alabama lost to No. 5 Tennessee 79-76 on a buzzer-beater Saturday in Knoxville. This was the program’s fourth consecutive loss to the Volunteers.
“That’s a tough way to lose,” head coach Nate Oats said.
The defeat kicks off a three game stretch against teams ranked within the top 5 of the AP poll to close the regular season.
An amped-up crowd coupled with a slow start could have done it in for the Crimson Tide early after the team went down 7-2. But Alabama scored 7 straight points to take a 9-7 lead with 15:48 left in the first half.
Both teams then traded runs for the next 10 minutes, but it was the Volunteers that held a 30-27 lead with 6:47 on the clock.
Alabama took a 42-28 lead into the locker room thanks to a 10-0 run that featured a pair of triples between the 4:23 and 1:01 marks of the half.
A 3-pointer from Tennessee forward Igor Milicic Jr. to open the half got the crowd excited as the Volunteers cut the lead to 1 right out of the gate.
The Crimson Tide kept its composure, getting stops and taking advantage of offensive opportunities to expand the lead to 56-48 in the first 6:47 of the half.
A 3-pointer from Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler capped a 10-2 Volunteer run and tied the score at 66 with 6:31 left.
With the score tied at 70 with 2:05 left and the shot clock down to 3 seconds, Alabama guard Mark Sears drilled an off-balance 3-pointer to give the Crimson Tide a 73-70 lead.
A key stop on the defensive end with a 75-72 lead, followed by a made free throw from guard Labaron Philon, gave Alabama a 4-point lead with 36 seconds left.
Less than six seconds later, Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier converted on a layup and was fouled. He missed from the line but an Alabama foul on the rebound gave the Volunteers two more free throws, which guard Jahmai Mashack made to tie the game at 76 with less than 30 seconds left.
Still tied at 76 with three seconds left, Philon was unable to inbound the ball due to the stifling Volunteer defense, giving possession to Tennessee. Mashack then sealed the game as an all-time classic by coming around a screen and draining a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond 30 feet.
“What a game, both teams played their hearts out,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said. “This is March.”
Oats put the blame for the loss on his coaching, saying that he was “not good enough for the final 30 seconds today” and that he felt like he “failed these guys.”
He also noted that his team left points on the board after making just 12 out of 29 layup chances and 17 out of 26 free throw attempts.
“You’ve got to convert at the rim and you got to convert free throws,” Oats said.
Barnes gave respect to Oats and the Crimson Tide, noting that he had “been on that side” of a result before and that Alabama “plays so hard.”
The Crimson Tide will return to Coleman Coliseum Wednesday night for its final home game of the season versus No. 3 Florida. The game is slated for 6 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN2.
