The 18th ranked Crimson Tide fell to the visiting Tennessee Volunteers 79-73 on Saturday night in Coleman Coliseum. The Tide added Charles Bediako to the roster in a move that has been the talk of college basketball, but couldn’t overcome the absence of Aden Holloway, Amari Allen, Keitenn Bristow, Davion Hannah, and Collins Onyejiaka, or the presence of UT star freshman Nate Ament. Ament tormented Bama with 29 points and seven rebounds to lead the Vols to victory. Alabama fell to 13-6 overall and 3-3 in the SEC while Tennessee improved to the same record, 13-6 and 3-3.
Coach Nate Oats used yet another different lineup for the game, the 11th combination of the year. Oats sent out Labaron Philon, Latrell Wrightsell- just back from an injury of his own-, Aiden Sherrell, Taylor Bol Bowen, and Houston Mallette. Tennessee countered with Ament, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Bishop Boswell, JP Estrella, and Felix Okpara. The quintet gave UT a huge front court with two 6’11” players and one standing 6’10”.
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The Tide got off to a nice start and when Bediako entered the game and had a monster dunk and another basket at the rim, Bama led 14-8 with 14:50 left in the half. Wrightsell connected from down town and followed with two free throws to give the tide a 22-12 lead with 9:38 remaining. Tennessee started clawing back with some sharp shooting and some Bama missed free throws. Philon and Bediako connected on a couple of nice rolls to the basket for hoops but the Vols kept battling back. UT was able to close the deficit to three at the half, 39-36.
In the first half Bama shot 15-29 for 52%, but only 2-7 from three point range. The Volunteers clamped down behind the arc and gave the Tide very few opportunities to let it fly from deep. Alabama made 7-10 from the charity stripe, but the three misses were all front end of one and one’s. Bama totaled 18 rebounds, seven offensive boards, six assists, one block, four steals, and committed three turnovers. Philon led the way with 11 points and six assists. Wrightsell tallied 11 points and had two steals. Bediako added eight points in his first college game since 2023.
Tennessee connected on 14 of 3o shots for 47%, 3-9 from deep, and 5-6 at the charity stripe. The Volunteers grabbed 15 rebounds, six offensive boards, dished out six assists, secured three steals, and turned the ball over six times. Ament led the way with 11 points and Gillespie added 10 points and three assists.
Both teams used the same starters for the second half. Bama got off to their typical slow start and the Vols took the lead at 40-39 with 18:20 left in the game. Tennessee kept a small lead and the Tide kept bouncing back, for a while. Bol Bowen and Wrightsell nailed three pointers and the game was tied at 50-50 with 13:45 left. UT would take a lead and Bama would bounce back to tie, and did retake the lead on an old fashioned three point play by Bediako at 62-60 with 9:55 remaining. Mallette missed the front end of a one and one, and Philon made one of two free throws to allow Tennessee to lead 64-63 at the 7:34 mark.
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The Volunteers grabbed a seven point lead as Ament was unguardable and unstoppable. Bama kept fighting and a three point play by Bol Bowen put the Tide within two at 70-68 with 5:44 on the clock. UT pushed the lead back to seven before Sherrell drained a three pointer from the corner to give Bama hope. Three straight long range jumpers for the Tide rolled out and the Vols were scoring at the free throw line. Alabama had an opportunity with 46 seconds left and down 77-73 after Tennessee turned the ball over, but could not capitalize. UT was able to run the clock out and the Tide was handed their third home loss of the season.
In the second half Bama shot only 10-29 with 4-19 from three point range and hit 10-14 free throws. Overall the Tide finished 25-58 for 43%, a putrid 6-26 for 23% from deep, and 17-24 for 71% at the line. Alabama totaled 33 rebounds, 10 offensively, nine assists, four blocks, seven steals, and committed seven turnovers. Philon scored 26 points on 7-20 shooting and added seven assists, and four rebounds. Wrightsell only scored three in the second half and finished with 14 points, Bediako scored 13 on 5-6 shooting and added three rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. Bol Bowen contributed eight points and five rebounds. Sherrell was in foul trouble all game,and eventually was disqualified, was held to six points and four rebounds after a string of career best games over the last couple of weeks.Mallette led the team with eight rebounds, but was needed on the offensive end, but could only tally two points. Mallette, Bethea, London Jemison, and Noah Williamson combined for six points. With Holloway and Allen averaging a combined 29.4 points per game, the Tide needed something from that group.
Tennessee shot the exact same from the field as they did in the first, 14-30 on field goals and 3-9 from deep. Overall the Vols made 17-25 free throws. UT dominated the second half boards and totaled 42 rebounds with 14 of them offensively. The Volunteers dished out 11 assists, grabbed seven steals, swatted three shots, and committed 10 turnovers. Ament showed that his a likely lottery pick in the NBA draft, scoring 29 points with seven rebounds, and three assists. Gillespie added 24 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Bama had no answer for either of them.
The Tide needs to get healthy to try and make noise the rest of the way. Allen and Holloway were huge absences today, Holloway for his long range shooting and Allen for everything. The 6’8” freshman would have been Bama’s best matchup for the 6’10” Ament and also leads Bama in rebounding, is the third leading scorer, third on the team in assists, second in steals and third in blocked shots per game. For the first time since Oats first year the Tide has lost consecutive home games and has a 3-3 SEC start for the first time since 2020. Bediako showed he will be a big addition, pending Tuesdays court date concerning his eligibility going forward. Allen and Holloway’s availability is paramount to the teams ability to stay afloat in the SEC.
Next up is another home game on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT against Missouri. The game will be shown on the SEC Network.
Roll Tide
