No. 11 Tennessee shuts down No. 1 Alabama, handing Tide first SEC loss
Tennessee men's basketball's topsy-turvy stretch reached a pinnacle Wednesday after a tumultuous two weeks — and it came with a statement.
Jahmai Mashack starred for a shorthand Vols team. Jonas Aidoo blossomed into a force. Veterans played like veterans. Tennessee's defense got back to it. The outcome was performance art: The No. 11 Volunteers controlled No. 1 Alabama for 40 minutes and reminded everyone — even perhaps themselves — of their ceiling.
Tennessee toppled top-ranked Alabama 68-59 on Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena, a momentous night for a Vols team not-yet-reeling but teetering after back-to-back losses on buzzer-beaters.
"After those tough losses, we stayed with it," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "We didn’t splinter."
Tennessee has three top-10 wins this season. It also beat Kansas in November and Texas in January. It is UT's sixth win against a No. 1 team in program history and its second straight.
Alabama's 59 points were a season low and Wednesday's setback was the first for the Crimson Tide in SEC play.
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Jahmai Mashack, Jonas Aidoo deserve major praise
Mashack made his first start in SEC play Wednesday and he was more than ready, rising to take on the challenge of guarding Alabama star Brandon Miller. The sophomore guard built on an outstanding stretch in the second half against Missouri defensively and again made life miserable for an opponent.
Aidoo started for the second straight game and turned in a double-double in the best performance of his career.
Tennessee set the tone with defense, rebounding
The Vols got hot from 3-point range early, then made life awful for Alabama with defense. Tennessee forced 12 first-half turnovers and scored 17 of its 29 first-half points off the turnovers. UT also had nine first-half offensive rebounds.
The Vols and Crimson Tide were tied 29-29 at halftime as UT shot 29.7% from the field and cooled off from three. Zeigler had nine points and four assists before halftime.
“We turned the ball over too much tonight,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said. “(Tennessee) got 26 points off the turnovers. Their physicality. … They got into our guards and we couldn’t handle it.”
Tennessee did not have Josiah-Jordan James or Julian Phillips
Tennessee was down two starters with Josiah-Jordan James (left ankle sprain) and Julian Phillips (hip flexor strain). James hurt his ankle in the final minute at Vanderbilt on Feb. 8. Phillips was hurt in practice Friday prior to UT's loss to Missouri. He did not play in the second half against the Tigers.
Up next
Tennessee plays at Kentucky on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, CBS). The Vols lost 63-56 on Jan. 14 to the Wildcats at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson.
Contributing: Associated Press
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee upsets No. 1 Alabama as Crimson Tide finally fall in SEC
