No. 17 Alabama men’s basketball lost at the hands of the unranked Tennessee Volunteers at home 79-73 on Saturday.
The loss was the team’s third in SEC play this season, its second straight loss at home and its fifth straight loss to Tennessee. The losing streak to Tennessee is the team’s first of five-game length since it lost five straight to the Volunteers from 1968 to 1972.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for coach [Rick] Barnes, he’s one of the best to do it in the last 20 [to] 30 years in college basketball,” head coach Nate Oats said postgame. “He’s done a great job against us. We have to do a better job prepping our guys.”
Star guard Labaron Philon Jr. led the scoring for the Crimson Tide with 26 points on 7/20 shooting. The effort was Philon’s 13th of 20-or-more-points this season. Despite the strong performance, Philon was not the talk of the town postgame.
Instead, it was the team’s newest addition to the roster.
Center Charles Bediako impressed in his first game for the Crimson Tide since March 24, 2023, after being granted a temporary restraining order against the NCAA on Wednesday. He notched 13 points on 5/6 shooting. He also brought down three rebounds, recorded two steals and blocked two shots.
“It felt great to be back, especially playing with Alabama across my chest,” Bediako said postgame.
Despite the midseason addition of Bediako, Alabama’s rebounding struggles continued on Saturday, as it was outrebounded by Tennessee 42-33. Four of its big men were hampered with foul trouble, including center Aiden Sherrell, who had recorded five or more rebounds in its last three games.
The first half saw the Crimson Tide carry a slim 3-point lead into the break, after it shot an efficient 15/29 from the field, despite attempting just seven 3-point shots. Guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr. opened the game on a heater, scoring 11 first-half points.
Entering the game, the team attempted 36.0 shots from deep per game, the most in Division I this season, but only tallied 26 attempts, its lowest this season. Its seven made 3-pointers were also its lowest tally of the season.
Philon said postgame that Tennessee’s defense was effective in “blowing up” the team’s ball screens.
Alabama once again opened a second half on the wrong foot, as the Volunteers mustered a 12-5 run and snatched the lead in the process. The run was propelled by guard Ja’kobi Gillespie and forward Nate Ament, who each scored 5 points in the opening 4:02.
The Crimson Tide led for just over two minutes in the second half, and its offense struggled throughout the second half, shooting 10/29 and 4/19 from 3-point range.
Ament continued his strong performance as the second half progressed and finished with a career-high 29 points on 10/20 shooting. He and Gillespie combined for 53 of the Volunteers’ 79 points.
The Crimson Tide had several opportunities to take the lead or cut down the Volunteers’ lead in crunch time, but struggled to muster offense down the stretch. After Sherrell knocked down a triple that cut the deficit to 4 points, Alabama entered a scoring drought lasting 3:11, which proved ultimately fatal.
Alabama returns to action on Tuesday, hosting the Missouri Tigers in a pivotal SEC clash. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the game can be streamed on SEC Network.
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