No. 17 Alabama men’s basketball erased a 13-point hole and knocked off No. 22 Tennessee 71-69 on Saturday in Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville.
The win was Alabama’s first over Tennessee since Dec. 29, 2021, and its first in Knoxville since Jan. 2, 2021. Guards Latrell Wrightsell Jr. and Labaron Philon Jr. willed the Crimson Tide back from the dead with 48 combined points and seven made 3-pointers.
“I’m glad we got the win,” head coach Nate Oats said postgame. “I’m not sure we necessarily deserved it, but I’m proud of how we fought.”
Philon took the game over in crunch time, scoring 10 of the team’s last 15 points after a slow start to the second half. He did not start the game after missing Wednesday’s 100-75 win over Mississippi State at home, and was listed on the SEC Injury Report until Saturday afternoon.
Oats said that Philon “looked a lot better tonight” than he did in the 90-83 win over LSU last week.
The Crimson Tide opened the game ice cold and did not make a shot until the 15:31 mark, when Philon knocked down a triple. Alabama held Tennessee to 2/7 from the field and forced three early turnovers, which later helped keep the game from getting away.
Tennessee dominated on the boards and racked up 17 second-chance points in the opening period. It also notched 16 offensive rebounds, forcing a 28-point opening half output from Alabama, its lowest first-half points tally of the season.
Alabama opened the second half with a solid offensive output, knocking down its first four shots and pulling within 4 points with 17:53 remaining. It missed its next four shots following a triple from Wrightsell and trailed by 10 with 14:21 to play.
The Crimson Tide entered a scoring drought of over 5 minutes, allowing the Volunteers to extend their lead to 13 points. Wrightsell was fouled on a 3-point attempt and knocked down two free throws, kickstarting an 11-4 Alabama run, which cut the lead to 6 points with under eight minutes to go.
Wrightsell cut the lead to 2 points with 4:35 to play on a corner 3-pointer. The Volunteers mustered scoring to extend its lead back to 6 points at the final media timeout, ending a 17-8 scoring run from the Crimson Tide.
Then Philon got into gear.
He knocked down several clutch shots in the final 3:12 of action, including a game-tying layup off a fastbreak and a go-ahead fadeaway jumper with 22.8 seconds to play. The Crimson Tide stood tall on the other end, denying the Volunteers a chance to tie the game as the clock ran out, snatching its first win over Tennessee in six tries and its eighth victory in a row.
“The mudita, camaraderie [and] chemistry on this team is great and it was a big part of that,” Oats said of the comeback win.
Alabama will return to action on Tuesday in Athens, Georgia, facing off with the Georgia Bulldogs in its final road test of SEC play. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT, and the game can be seen on ESPNews.
Hence then, the article about rocky toppled comeback effort guides no 17 men s basketball past no 22 tennessee 71 69 was published today ( ) and is available on The Crimson White ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Rocky toppled: Comeback effort guides No. 17 men’s basketball past No. 22 Tennessee, 71-69 )
Also on site :