The Southeastern Conference's preseason favorite and regular-season champion for men's basketball collided Saturday afternoon in the league tournament's first semifinal inside Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, and the showdown did not disappoint.
Tennessee built a surprising 15-point lead three minutes into the second half, but sixth-ranked and top-seeded Alabama countered with 14 consecutive points and then broke free late for a 73-68 triumph. The fourth-seeded Volunteers were denied in their quest for a third consecutive finals appearance, which would have marked a program first, and ultimately their first SEC tournament title since 1979.
The Vols were valiant without senior forward John Fulkerson, who was ruled out due to a concussion and facial fracture he sustained during Friday's 78-66 quarterfinal win over Florida.
"We're disappointed, because we came into this game fully expecting to win, even without John being here," Vols coach Rick Barnes said afterward. "The mistakes that we're making right now we can still fix, but the competitiveness that we're playing with and the determination in the last two weeks has really gone to a different level that we're excited about."
Tennessee dropped to 18-8 but was already assured of a 23rd NCAA tournament appearance in program history, while Alabama improved to 23-6 and will face LSU for the SEC tourney crown at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. LSU defeated Arkansas 78-71 in Saturday's second semi.
The 68-team NCAA tournament will be revealed Sunday evening, with this year's extravaganza having to be held entirely in Indiana due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that wiped out last year's event.
Fulkerson will be evaluated daily given the nature of his head injury before his NCAA tournament status will be revealed, Tennessee associate athletic director Tom Satkowiak said. The injury to the 6-foot-9, 215-pounder from Kingsport occurred early in the second half against the Gators, when Florida sophomore forward Omar Payne elbowed him intentionally and was ejected from the game.
Before Saturday's semifinal, Fulkerson posted on Twitter: "I know a lot of people are upset with what happened during yesterday's game. Omar reached out to me this morning and was very remorseful. Everyone makes mistakes. Let's all show grace and focus on today's game."
Barnes said Florida coach Mike White reached out to him as well and considered the matter closed when asked if Payne should face additional punishment.
"I've been in situations like that over these many years, and it's happened a couple of times with me when the person who did it is the one you would least expect to do it," Barnes said. "Sometimes in the heat of battle things happen. You don't want to see it happen, and there is tremendous regret when it does happen.
"It's over with and done with, and we'll get on down the road."
An Yves Pons 3-pointer with 41.4 seconds remaining against the Crimson Tide pulled Tennessee within 69-68, and Alabama's ensuing possession resulted in a Herb Jones miss, with Jones fouling Davonte Gaines after Gaines came away with the rebound. Gaines went to the free-throw line with 25 seconds left and a chance to give the Vols a 70-69 lead but missed both attempts.
ESPN cameras caught the obvious disappointment as Gaines went to the bench and was consoled by teammates.
"Free throws are a part of the game, but we would have never gotten to that part of the game if he wasn't on the court," Vols sophomore guard Santiago Vescovi said.
The Vols had to foul Jahvon Quinerly, who made both of his attempts with 15.5 seconds remaining, and Victor Bailey Jr. was short on a contested 3-pointer with nine seconds left. Keon Johnson scored 20 points and Jaden Springer 18 as Tennessee's freshman tandem had another stout showing, while Vescovi added 11.
Johnson racked up 16 first-half points on 7-of-10 shooting to stake the Vols to a 40-31 lead at intermission.
"We did a great job in the first half on the defensive end, which led to us being able to run the court and get open transition looks," Johnson said. "I feel like that's the type of team we are, and I think it's what led to the first half I had. They packed the paint in on us in the second half, and we're a driving team.
"We had to get the ball moving side to side to get the shots that we were looking for, which we didn't do, and that led to turnovers. We've just got to take care of the ball and stay locked in defensively until April."
A Springer jumper with 5:53 before halftime gave the Vols their first double-digit advantage at 34-24, and a Vescovi 3-pointer three minutes into the second half resulted in their largest lead at 48-33.
Jones led Alabama with 20 points, while Quinerly finished with 19. The Tide played Saturday without freshman guard Josh Primo (MCL sprain), who scored 11 points when they beat Tennessee 71-63 in Knoxville on Jan. 2.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.