Alabama basketball starts fast then folds in loss to Tennessee
After jumping out to a hot start, Alabama was unable to close out Tennessee Saturday afternoon, falling 59-54 to the Volunteers on the road.
Alabama shot 57 percent from the floor, including 7 of 9 from beyond the arc in the first half, but collapsed in the second half. The Tide made just 25 percent of its shots in the second half, including 1 of 8 from 3. The loss drops Alabama to 17-13, 10-8 in the SEC, while Tennessee moves to 16-15, 8-10 with the win.
Tide's three stars
Forward Riley Norris came up big for the Tide with 13 points on the afternoon. All of the junior’s points came in the first half, as he went into the break shooting 5 of 6, including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Braxton Key joined Norris in double figures with 12 points, while Corban Collins chipped in seven points for the Tide.
The difference maker
After trailing 36-22, Tennessee came storming back in the second half with a 16-2 run to slice the Tide’s big halftime lead to 42-40 with 14 minutes remaining. The Volunteers eventually took a 48-47 lead with 8:35 remaining on a 3 from Grant Williams that just beat the shot-clock buzzer.
It was over when ...
With Alabama down 59-54, Avery Johnson Jr. missed a desperation 3 with 6 seconds remaining to ice the game. The ending came as the Tide fell apart in the second half, allowing the Volunteers to finish the game on an 11-1 run.
Next up
Alabama will enter the SEC Tournament as the No. 5 seed where it will have a first-round bye. The Tide will play its first game in the tournament on March 9 against the winner of the game between the No. 12 and No. 13 seeds, which will be played the day before. The game will be televised on SEC Network at a time yet to be announced.
If Alabama wins, it would face the No. 4 seed on March 10 in the quarterfinals. The SEC Tournament championship game will be on March 12 at noon and will be televised on ESPN.
Alabama was eliminated in the second round of the tournament last season. Alabama has won six SEC Tournament championships in its history, the second most in the SEC behind Kentucky (29).
Box score
