Alabama
22-7,12-4SEC
#22 Tennessee
20-9,10-6SEC
No. 17/18 Alabama Comes From Behind to Topple No. 22/22 Tennessee, 71-69
2/28/2026 8:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Crimson Tide beat the Volunteers for the first time since 2021
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 17/18 Alabama men's basketball team used a layup from Labaron Philon Jr. with 24 seconds left to secure its season-high eighth straight victory, defeating Tennessee 71-69 at the Food City Center in Knoxville on Saturday night. Philon's game-winner in the final seconds gave the Crimson Tide its only lead of the contest, as Alabama trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half before staging a rally and pulling out the victory.
Alabama (22-7, 12-4 SEC) was led by Latrell Wrightsell's season-high 25 points while Labaron Philon Jr. added 23 points coming off the bench for the first time this season. Aiden Sherrell anchored the defense with all four of the Tide's blocks this game to go with a team-best eight boards.Â
Tennessee (20-9, 10-6 SEC) was led by Ja'Kobi Gillespie who finished with 26 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Nate Ament, who scored 29 against Alabama last time, only scored two points in 11 minutes following an injury.Â
Head Coach Nate Oats Postgame CommentsÂ
"I have tremendous respect for Coach (Rick) Barnes and how he conducts his program. They have had their way with us here recently, we were on a five-game losing streak to them. He is one of the best coaches in America. It is great that we got the win. I am not sure we deserved it, but we fought hard. Last year we outplayed them for 39 minutes and change, and this year was the same for them. We were able to cut the lead multiple times. I don't know how long we led, but it was about 30 seconds, so I give a lot of credit to our players for having a never-give-up attitude.Â
"None of these guys have ever beat Tennesse and they know the struggles we have had against them. My MVP of the game is Aiden Sherrell, we can't win the game without him inside. We got destroyed on the glass and that is what this team does. They had 25 offensive rebounds and we only had 21 defensive rebounds. When they are getting more of their misses then we are, it makes it extremely hard to win the game but we got enough stops late. We outscored them 29-14 in the last seven minutes, but there is a lot of stuff we did wrong and need ot get better at. Â
"Wrightsell had 25 points on 6-of-9 from three and led us in plus-minus. Philon had has been going through an injury and gave us 23 off the bench. He looked great and made the shot to put us up, and (Aden) Holloway made the shot to tie the game. The backcourt made some tough plays."
Team StatsÂ
- Alabama's 10 three-pointers tonight make it 10 straight games UA has cashed in that many treys or more, its longest streak of the season
- The Tide shot 10-of-27 from three-point range in the contest for 37 percent shooting from behind the arc
- UA was down as many 13 points, marking its third come-from-behind victory of double-digits thus far (Mississippi State and Arkansas)
- Alabama led for just 24 seconds the entire game, compared to a 36:37 lead time for Tennessee
- Aiden Sherrell had four blocks during the game, marking his 11th game this season with three or more swatsÂ
- The Tide got outrebounded 47-30 by the Vols, including 25-9 on the offensive glass
First Half Â
- Four early Tide turnovers, including two by Amari Allen, led to a 5-0 Volunteer lead at the 15:55 mark in the first stanzaÂ
- Seven early offensive rebounds by the Vols see them in front 14-11 with 11:58 left until the intermissionÂ
- A 12-5 Tennessee run saw the Vols take a 26-16 lead with 5:25 left before two Latrell Wrightsell treys cut the lead to six, 28-22, with 3:20 left until halftime
- A total of 16 offensive rebounds for Tennessee in the first half led to 17 second chance points and a 40-28 lead for the Volunteers at halftime
- Latrell Wirghtsell had 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in the first half, and a team high 16 minutes off the benchÂ
Second Half Â
- UA started the game 4-of-4 to start the half cutting the lead all the way down to four points, 44-40 with 17:53 left in the game
- An 11-4 run by the Volunteers over a span of 5:11 (17:05-11:54) saw UT reclaim a double-digit lead, 55-44 with 11:22 left on the game clock Â
- A 9-4 Bama run cut the lead back to single digits, 59-53 with 7:32 until the final buzzerÂ
- Alabama kept the game in check over the next few minutes, keeping the lead where it is, 67-61 with 3:22 left in the gameÂ
- UA tied the game for the first time,  67-67 with 2:32 left until the final buzzerÂ
- A fadeaway jumper in the paint by Labaron Philon Jr. gave the Tide its first lead of the game 71-69 with 24 seconds remaining in the gameÂ
- A missed layup by Ja'Kobi Gillespie at the buzzer gave the Tide its first win over the Vols since 2021, 71-69
- UA shot 15-29, for 52 percent from the field in the second halfÂ
Up Next
- The Tide finishes its final road trip of the season, ending in Athens on Tuesday night to face the Georgia Bulldogs Â
- Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. CT at the Stegeman Coliseum and can be seen on ESPNNews
