No. 4 Tennessee weathers the storm in 81-74 road win at No. 14 Alabama

TUSCALOOSA — No. 4 Tennessee weathered the storms — foul trouble, missed shots, a hostile environment on the road and a home team on a huge run — and found a way to win 81-74 at No. 14 Alabama Saturday night at Coleman Coliseum.

It was billed as the SEC’s game of the year, featuring two teams that entered the night tied for first in the league standings, and now the regular-season championship is one game closer for the Vols with two to play. 

Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) got just 13 points from Dalton Knecht, who picked up his fourth foul with 4:53 left and finished 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-7 from the 3-point line. Zakai Zeigler had 18 points and four assists and Josiah-Jordan James finished with 11 points, 13 rebounds and three assists. Jonas Aidoo had 12 points and seven rebounds but played just 23 minutes after picking up two fouls in the first five minutes.

Alabama (20-9, 12-4) got 22 from Mark Sears, Aaron Estrada had 16 and Nick Pringle scored 13 while all three navigated foul trouble.

The big shots for Tennessee came in the closing minutes. 

James made a corner three with two minutes left to build Tennessee’s lead to five, after Knecht scored in the paint with 2:30 left to make it a 72-69 lead. Zeigler hit a three with 3:38 left to get the lead to five, too, after Jahmai Mashack scored on a layup with 4:35 to go to make it a 67-64 Tennessee lead.

The big shots evaded Alabama over the final 14 minutes, with the Crimson Tide going 3-for-23 from the field over the game’s final 14 minutes.

A 17-1 Alabama that bridged halftime changed the momentum initially, starting with 2:50 left in the first half, when the Crimson Tide trailed by 10, and running through the 18:20 mark of the second half, when the lead grew to six for the home team.

Tennessee answered with three straight 3-pointers, from Santiago Vescovi, Zeigler and Knecht, but it was the only three makes in a 3-for-23 stretch for the Vols.

Alabama going 3-for-23 to close the game followed a 10-for-14 stretch that saw the Tide build the lead to as many as seven, at 58-51 with 13:48 left.

Alabama closed first half on 12-0 run to take 41-39 lead

Alabama closed the first half on a 12-0 run, erasing a 10-point deficit to lead 41-39 at the break. 

Tennessee led by as many as 11 points in the first half, led 39-29 at the 3:47 mark and led for 17 minutes, but the Vols missed their last seven shots from the field and made just 2 of 11 to close the half. 

Jordan Gainey led Tennessee with nine points in the first half, ahead of eight points and seven rebounds from James. Knecht scored seven and Zeigler had five. 

Aidoo played just five minutes in the first half after picking up two fouls in the first five minutes. Tobe Awaka had his second foul eight minutes into the game and James and Knecht picked up their second fouls late in the half. Sears led Alabama with 12 points in the first half and Estrada had 11.

Up Next: No. 4 Tennessee at No. 18 South Carolina, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Tennessee will be back on the road Wednesday at South Carolina in a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN2 at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia. The Vols will host Kentucky on Senior Day on Saturday, a 4 p.m. ET start on CBS at Thompson-Boling Arena in the regular-season finale.

The Gamecocks held serve in the SEC standings with a home win over Florida on Saturday, moving to 12-4 in conference play. Auburn beat Vanderbilt at home to improve to 11-5 and Kentucky beat Arkansas at Rupp Arena to go to 11-5. 

The SEC Tournament is set for March 13-17 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, with the top four teams in the final league standings receiving a double bye into the quarterfinal round. The NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced on Sunday, March 17 at 6 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS.