Tennessee basketball’s five-game winning streak against Alabama came to a close Saturday night when Alabama completed a 12-point second half comeback to knock off the Vols’ 71-69 in Knoxville.
The Vols controlled the game for much of the evening but was unable to get to the finish line as Labaron Philon hit a fade away to take the lead with 24 seconds remaining and Ja’Kobi Gillespie’s layup on the other end did not fall as Tennessee dropped its second straight game.
“It’s great that we got the win,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said postgame. “I’m not sure we necessarily deserved it. But we did fight hard.”
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Alabama’s Win Was A Reversal Compared To Last Season
The irony was not lost on Oats or Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes. A year ago in Knoxville, Tennessee led for zero seconds in the second half. Only when the final buzzer sounded as Jahmai Mashack’s 35-footer fell through the net.
This time, it was Alabama that pulled off the late game heroics, leading for just 24 seconds but exiting Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center with the victory.
“After the game, obviously the game was somewhat the other way last year with an unbelievable comeback by them,” Oats said. “His comment to me as soon as he shook my hand was ‘man, after the way that game went last year, you deserved this win.’”
“I appreciate Rick’s sentiment because I believe last year we outplayed them for probably 39 minutes and some change and just kind of blew it in the end. This year, they outplayed us for about the same and we were able to hang in there and fight it out, cut the lead multiple times.”
Oats roared onto the court in celebration after the final buzzer. He entered the postgame press conference with his hair soaked from a locker room celebration. Ending the five-game losing streak was a clear point of pride for Alabama. How last year’s game ended clearly was a point of frustration, something Oats mentioned following Tennessee’s win in Tuscaloosa earlier this season.
Statistically, It Was Extremely Improbable For Alabama To Complete The Comeback
Tennessee and Alabama play opposite styles. The Crimson Tide play at the fastest pace in the SEC. Tennessee plays at the slowest. The Vols dictated the tempo on Saturday night. It was a 60 possession game, slower than even Tennessee’s average.
That’s what made Alabama’s comeback so improbable. With 6:30 to play, Tennessee led by eight points. Both teams had nine possessions the rest of the game. Alabama scored on eight of its possessions, totaling 18 points at a 2.000 points per possession rate.
Tennessee scored on four of its final nine possessions but only one of its final five possessions. They scored eight points at a 0.889 points per possession rate.
In the simplest terms, Alabama won 13 of the game’s final 18 possessions. If Tennessee won just one more, they would have at least forced overtime or potentially won in regulation.
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It Was Tennessee’s Fifth Time Blowing A Double Digit Lead
Blowing a double-digit lead is a familiar place for Tennessee. They have done it five times this season including four times in the second half.
“You got to make plays, and we didn’t make it on the defensive end when we needed to, and when we needed to get a bucket, we couldn’t get it,” Barnes said postgame.
Tennessee’s 11th year head coach downplayed the blow leads while highlighting the Vols’ inability to play a complete 40 minutes. It’s what makes Tennessee such a tantalizing team. There have been flashes of great play, but not with any real consistency.
Take the Vols’ four second half blown leads. If Tennessee wins just three of those games against Kansas, Kentucky and Alabama then they would be 23-6 and have a legit chance to earn a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year.
But Tennessee has been unable to get to the finish line in those games or keep its foot on the gas to consistently handle opponents. It’s why the discussion is about the Vols’ potential and not their production.
