Alabama Basketball Falls to No. 6 Tennessee 91-71 In Knoxville

In a turnover plagued performance, the Crimson Tide drop their first conference game of the season.

In a sloppy rivalry matchup on the road, Nate Oats and the Crimson Tide failed to stay perfect in SEC play.

On Saturday, No. 6 Tennessee defeated Alabama Basketball 91-71 in Knoxville, holding the Crimson Tide to a 44.6% shooting performance from the field.

While most games at The Food City Center are physical, this one felt like heavyweights trading blows back and forth, with the Volunteers maintaining an edge for most of the contest, inevitably pulling out to a commanding lead halfway through the second half.

It was a brutal afternoon offensively for Alabama, as the Crimson Tide turned the ball over 13 times in the first half, finishing with a hefty total of 22 on the day.

Despite the loss, it was a gritty performance for point guard Mark Sears, who despite seven turnovers, battled through an ankle injury while finishing with 22 points on 7-for-13 shooting, dishing out two assists and nabbing two steals.

Now standing at 12-6 (3-1 SEC), Alabama will be tasked with yet another rivalry matchup coming on Wednesday, as Bruce Pearl and No. 13 Auburn (15-2, 4-0 SEC) come to town on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT.

[This story will be updated with quotes from Alabama head coach Nate Oats and available players]

Final Stats:

Final stats courtesy of ESPN. 

Second Half: 

• 0:00: Buzzer sounds. Alabama falls 91-71 on the road to No. 6 Tennessee. 
• 1:37: Stevenson drains a three-pointer. Dioubate converst a layup to make this one a little closer than it should've been. Tennessee 88, Alabama 69.
• 4:16: Mashack drains another three-pointer. This one is getting uglier by the minute. Tennessee 84, Alabama 61. 
• 8:26: Knecht drains two free throws. Aidoo converts a layup. The onslaught continues. Tennessee 73, Alabama 54. 
• 11:51: Knecht throws down another dunk. He's got 21 points on 7-for-17 shooting. This one is getting out of had. Tennessee 65, Alabama 47. 
• 14:04: Estrada layup stops the bleeding for Alabama. Tennessee 59, Alabama 43. 
• 15:53: TV Timeout. The Volunteer lead is back up to 14. Crimson Tide look lost offensively. Tennessee 55, Alabama 41. 
• 19:49: Alabama strikes first in the second half courtesy of a bucket from Mark Sears. Tennessee 50, Alabama 39. 

Halftime Stats: 

Halftime stats courtesy of ESPN. 

First Half:

• 0:00: Half concludes. 13 turnovers for Alabama through 20 minutes. Ugly performance. Tennessee 50, Alabama 37.
• 0:36: Gainey buries another three to stop the bleeding. Tennessee 50, Alabama 37. 
• 1:21: Alabama has trimmed the lead to 10, thanks in-part to a three from Sam Walters and bucket from Grant Nelson. Tennessee 47, Alabama 37. 
• 3:19: Gainey buries a three, then follows a miss from Knecht for an easy two. Alabama responds with a jumper and layup from Sears and Griffin. Nelson fouls Knecht. He'll be shooting two when we return. Tennessee 45, Alabama 31. 
• 5:35: 7 quick points from Knecht, including a thunderous dunk, push the Volunteer lead back up to 13. Tennessee 38, Alabama 25. Mark Sears to the line shooting two. 
• 7:49: TV Timeout. Jonas Aidoo made layup. Mark Sears made free throw. Dalton Knecht made layup. Jarin Stevenson made dunk. Jordan Gainey made three-point jumper. Mark Sears made layup. Jarin Stevenson made free throw x2. Tennessee 30, Alabama 20. 
• 10:39: Alabama's up to eight turnovers on the day. Tennessee 25, Alabama 13.
• 12:13: Mouhamed Dioubate made layup.  Jonas Aidoo made layup. Sam Walters made three-point jumper. Dalton Knecht made three-point jumper. Tennessee 21, Alabama 12.
• 14:39: Back-to-back buckets by Dalton Knecht pushes the Volunteer lead to seven. Tennessee 14, Alabama 7. 
• 15:45: TV Timeout. Four early turnovers for the Crimson Tide. Tennessee 10, Alabama 7. 
• 16:09: Estrada converts a layup, then finds Nick Pringle under the basket for an easy two. Tennessee 10, Alabama 7. 
• We're under way in Knoxville. Tennessee gets on the board first with a Jonas Aidoo layup.

Pregame:

• Officials: Terry Oglesby, Bart Lenox and Vladimir Voyard-Tadal.
• Alabama starters: Sears, Estrada, Griffen, Nelson, Pringle
• Alabama head coach Nate Oats met with the media on Friday afternoon from Knoxville and provided an update on point guard Mark Sears, who has been dealing with an ankle injury.

"He's been able to fully practice these last two days," Oats said. "He's not 100 percent, but we haven't held him out of anything in practice. It's progressing every day so hopefully he's better tomorrow than he was today. He's the leading scorer in the SEC, so we're going to play him if he's anywhere close to 100 percent."

How to Watch: Alabama vs No. 6 Tennessee

When: Saturday, January 20, 1:00 p.m. CT

Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.

TV: ESPN2

Series: Alabama leads 81-71

Last Meeting: February 15, 2023. Tennessee 68, Alabama 59

Last Time Out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide made quick work of Missouri, defeating the Tigers 93-75 at home.

Last Time Out, Tennessee: The Volunteers defeated Florida 85-66 at home, moving to 3-1 in conference.

See More:

Can Alabama Basketball Pass the Tennessee Test After Early Season's Lessons?