5 Takeaways: No. 3 Tennessee 71, Alabama 68
Photo by Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee overcame a furious comeback effort by Alabama on Saturday, winning the nail-biter 71-68. What started as a dominant showing from the Vols turned into one of their toughest tests of the season. Tennessee jumped out to an early 16-4 lead and it seemed as if it would be a fairly painless game. That was not the case.
Tennessee was in control in the first half, leading 44-32 at halftime. After Admiral began the second half of the Arkansas game on Tuesday with a 14-0 run, the Crimson Tide used a team effort to begin the second half on a 13-0 run and take a 45-44 lead. This was the first time that the Vols trailed in the second half, at home this season.
Alabama’s John Petty was the biggest part of the run, scoring their first 8 points of the second half. For the final 17 minutes of the game, it was a tightly contested battle. Neither team could pull away, as the largest lead from this point on was just 4 points.
Alabama led 65-63 with 3:00 to go, but a bucket by Schofield tied the game. Not a single fan in Thompson-Boling Arena was sitting during the game’s final minutes. With under 1:30 left, Grant Williams made a few long strides to leap and block an attempted 3-pointer by Petty. This was undoubtedly the defensive play of the game, as Petty scored a career-high 30 points and was 6-10 from beyond the arc.
It was a 1-point game with 11 seconds remaining when Grant was called for a charge on Donta Hall. Then, Petty was called for a traveling violation with 3 seconds remaining, after he changed his pivot foot. Lamonté Turner made 2 clutch free throws to give the Vols a 3-point lead. Alabama’s half-court heave was to no avail and Tennessee survived.
Jordan Bowden finished with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Jordan Bone recorded 10 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds. Kyle Alexander logged 6 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks on the day.
Here are 5 Takeaways from Tennessee’s fifth conference victory.
Alabama Lost This Game
Alabama was in position to potentially upset a top-3 team on the road, but their mistakes cost them the game. They scored a mere 7 points over the final 9 minutes of the game and John Petty was held scoreless during that span. In addition to this extended scoring drought, the Crimson Tide went 8-18 from the charity stripe on the day. Tennessee made 12-16 free throw attempts, but didn’t help themselves out by scoring just 13 points in those final 9 minutes.
The game balanced out, as the Vols couldn’t make the inside shots they typically make and Alabama went stone cold from the free throw line. Alabama out-played the Vols on the perimeter, making 10-26 3-point attempts. The Vols went 3-12. Tennessee is fortunate to win this game. Not only does it extend their win streak to 12 games, but with both Michigan and Duke losing on Saturday, they set themselves up to potentially become the No. 1 team in the country on Monday.
Admiral Struggled From The Field
Admiral shot the ball poorly on Saturday. He was 4-17 from the field, including a 1-4 clip from beyond the arc. Still, he came up clutch with 2 consecutive baskets for Tennessee. He tied the game at 65, before giving the Vols the lead less than a minute later. After what felt like an abysmal day for Schofield, he finished with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Simply put, Admiral is an elite player. To struggle shooting the ball this much and still record a double-double is quite the accomplishment.
Grant Can Always Be Relied On
He didn’t do anything particularly flashy, but his 21 points were huge for the Vols. He remains calm when Tennessee needs a late bucket. This was seen with under a minute left in the game. Admiral missed a close shot, but Grant was in the right place at the right time for an easy putback, giving the Vols a 3-point lead. He also had a huge block on a Petty 3-point attempt.
Petty had gone scoreless over the final 9 minutes, but he had a great chance of making the wide open corner triple. Grant has a calming presence in intense moments. He is the guy Tennessee can always go to when they have to get a bucket down the stretch.
Tennessee Has Improved Every Season Under Rick Barnes
In Coach Barnes’ first year on Rocky Top, the Vols finished the season with just 15 wins. They won 16 games in the following season. Now, in his fourth season, Tennessee has reached 16 wins in just 17 games. After accumulating 26 wins last season, with 23 coming in the regular season, the Vols will look to surpass that total this year. Rick Barnes continues to impress everyone with his remarkable coaching job and revival of the Tennessee basketball program.
Finding a Way to Win
Tennessee did many things poorly on Saturday afternoon, but they managed to avoid the upset. The Vols shot under 50% from the field for just the fourth time this season and Alabama made 6 3-pointers in the second half alone. The Vols countered with just 1 triple after halftime. Tennessee shot 44% from the field, while the Crimson Tide shot 42%.
The Vols were out-rebounded 41-36, but forced 13 Alabama turnovers. The Vols may find themselves at the top of the rankings on Monday, so they will continue to receive every team’s best shot. Adversity is inevitable, but the response given will determine how far this team can go this season.
Player of the Game: Grant Williams
