It was too rocky at the top for Alabama.
Despite Tennessee playing without injured senior guard Josiah-Jordan James (ankle) and freshman forward Julian Phillips (hip), the No. 10 Volunteers used a stingy defense and key 3-point shooting to knock off No. 1 Alabama 68-59 Wednesday night inside Thompson-Boling Arena. It was the first Southeastern Conference loss this season for the Crimson Tide, who dropped to 22-4 overall and 12-1 in league contests, while Tennessee improved to 20-6 and 9-4.
Alabama entered averaging 83.4 points per game but committed 19 turnovers that Tennessee turned into 26 points.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of the effort our guys put into the game for 40 minutes defensively,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a news conference. “Alabama deserves its No. 1 ranking, but there was just incredible defensive intensity by a lot of guys. There wasn’t one guy who went into that game tonight who didn’t help us win.”
The Vols clinched their 20-win season on their third attempt, having lost buzzer-beaters last week to Vanderbilt and Missouri, and they improved to 6-14 all-time against No. 1 teams.
Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler led the Vols with 15 points apiece.
“We feel like we can beat any team in the country on any given day,” Zeigler said. “We’ve got the No. 1 defense in the country, and we can travel that no matter if we’re making shots or not.”
Jonas Aidoo added 12 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Vols, while Uros Plavsic tallied 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting and a 2-of-3 performance at the free-throw line.
Brandon Miller’s 15 points and Jaden Bradley’s 14 led Alabama.
“Tennessee proved why they have the No. 1 defense in the country,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said. “They did a great job on us, and we turned the ball over way too much. We only get them once, and if we get them again, it will be in the SEC tournament. Hopefully we’ll be better prepared.”
Said Barnes: “We never came disconnected after our last two games. They were really focused these last two days.”
A Vescovi 3-pointer with 11:18 remaining provided Tennessee a 47-40 cushion, and the Crimson Tide would never get back within a single possession. The Vols increased their advantage to 56-47 on a Plavsic three-point play with 5:20 left.
Two 3-pointers by Zeigler and one by Vescovi staked Tennessee to an 11-7 lead, and the Vols increased it to 26-18 with 4:11 before halftime on a Plavsic layup off an assist by Zeigler. Alabama closed the half on an 11-3 run to force a 29-29 deadlock at intermission.
“This was just an incredible effort in the way that they fought, and it’s really what we’re going to have to do from here on out,” Barnes said. “Our schedule is pretty back-loaded.”
The Vols next play Saturday afternoon at Kentucky — “We’ve got to get them back,” Aidoo said — while Alabama hosts Georgia on Saturday night.
Odds and ends
Aidoo notched his first career double-double. … Alabama’s 17 made field goals marked its fewest of the season. … The Vols now have 10 wins over top-five foes in the Barnes era.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.
Updated with more information at 11:25 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2023.