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Watch: Rick Barnes addresses Vols in locker room after Tennessee's 81-74 win at Alabama

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•03/03/24•

GrantRamey

Rick Barnes
Tennessee Athletics

TUSCALOOSA — Dalton Knecht was slowed by foul trouble and couldn’t get a shot to fall. Tennessee’s star wing scored just 13 points on 5-for-14 shooting from the field and 1-for-7 from the 3-point line.

So when the Vols needed a big shot or a big stop at No. 14 Alabama Saturday night, they turned to their veterans in an 81-74 comeback win at Coleman Coliseum. 

Zakai Zeigler scored a team-high 18 points, Josiah-Jordan James had 11 points, 13 rebounds and three assists and Jahmai Mashack had eight points, six rebounds and three assists.

All three hit big shots in the closing minutes and helped Tennessee (23-6, 13-3 SEC) hold on to first place in the SEC standings. Now the Vols go to No. 18 South Carolina on Tuesday — the Gamecocks are in second place, one game back — and host No. 16 Kentucky on Senior Day on Saturday. 

“Got to go to South Carolina,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes told his team in the locker room after the win at Alabama. “We’re there, we know what we’ve got to do. But hey, Jo, you and ‘Shack were awesome, man.

“And I want to tell you this, if we ever get everybody clicking at the same time, you know what we can do.”

That’s when James answered for him.

“Unstoppable,” James said.

‘When we got down, we didn’t crack at all, we just kept grinding’

Tennessee’s defense was untouchable down the stretch at Alabama, holding the Crimson Tide to 3-for-21 shooting over the final 14 minutes, as the Vols rallied from down seven with 13:42 left.

“The best part,” Barnes told his team, “the second half, they scored 33 points. Best offensive team in the country, we held them to 33 points. Great job on defense Santi (Vescovi), everybody.”

Tennessee had its own extended cold stretch, making just 3 of 23 shots from the field as Alabama went on a 17-1 run from the 3:47 mark of the first half to the 18:20 mark in the second half. 

“When we got down,” Barnes told his team, “we didn’t crack at all, we just kept grinding. That’s a great win, man. Again, we’re right where we want to be. We know what is in front of us.”

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

What’s right in front of the Vols is a chance to win an SEC regular-season title for the second time under Barnes and the third SEC title during the Barnes era. The Vols won the regular-season title in 2017-18 and won the SEC Tournament in 2022, the program’s first since 1979.

South Carolina (24-5, 12-4), after hosting Tennessee on Wednesday, closes the regular-season schedule at Mississippi State on Saturday. Alabama (20-9, 12-4), tied with South Carolina for second place after being swept by the Vols, goes to Florida Tuesday and hosts Arkansas on Saturday.

Auburn (22-7, 11-5) is two games back, goes to Missouri Tuesday and plays Georgia at home on Saturday. Kentucky (21-8, 11-5) plays Vanderbilt at home on Wednesday before Saturday’s game at Tennessee.

“We’ve just tried to keep our focus on what’s ahead,” Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “Not feel too good about anything. I appreciate what they’ve done, but they know we’re going to get right back at it and go to South Carolina.”

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