KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A late turnover cost No. 6 Alabama basketball a chance at beating No. 5 Tennessee on the road. Despite some outstanding effort from the Crimson Tide, it was the Volunteers who got the last shot and took advantage, drilling a buzzer-beater 3 to secure a 79-76 win on Saturday.

Alabama battled, but it wasn’t enough. The Tide’s elite first-half defense, gritty effort on the glass and strong play from Mark Sears and Labaron Philon were let down by a late giveaway on an in-bound pass. Alabama has struggled in that area all season, and despite having two timeouts to work with, the Tide tried to play it out but was called for a five-second violation.

Tennessee made just enough second-half adjustments and hit key free throws late, while Alabama struggled on shots from the charity stripe and at shots at the rim. With just enough miscues on Alabama's end, the Vols were able to put themselves in a position to hit the big shot.

Here are three takeaways from Alabama’s matchup against Tennessee.

Coming into the game, Alabama head coach Nate Oats told reporters that what made Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler difficult to stop was his smart defending. His skill prevents teams from targeting him to get him into foul trouble, and Zeigler couples those innate defensive instincts with excellent playmaking ability, making it hard for teams to contain him on both ends.

But Alabama was able to continue a trend in the first half that has helped it massively over its last three games. The Tide forced Zeigler to commit two early fouls, sending him to the bench and he finished finished with two points in just 10 first-half minutes.

However, the Tide failed to capitalize on offense in the span Zeigler was on the bench. Tennessee’s lifeblood on the defensive end is forcing difficult shots at all three levels. The Volunteers rank in the top five in opponent field goal and 3-point percentage, which fuels their No. 1-ranked unit in defensive efficiency.

With very few shots coming easy, Alabama had to move the ball and make some tough ones. The Tide managed to get to the rim and earn contested looks. Tennesse, which also ranks No. 4 in the country in block percentage, only swatted one shot in the first half, but Alabama still struggled to finish around the rim, shooting just 53% on layups in the first 20 minutes.

The Tide’s fearless driving also helped earn it trips to the free-throw line. The game was called extremely tight from the opening tip, and the Tide was put in the bonus for the final 12:43 of the first half. Alabama players recognized the way the game was being officiated and looked to turn the corner on drives to get calls on the floor before rising up for shots.

The issue for Alabama — its free opportunities didn’t go in. The Tide shot made just 8 of 15 free throws in the first half, leaving key points at the line that meant it only held a four-point lead at the break after a Tennessee and-1 gave the Vols some momentum.

Alabama’s inability to capitalize with Zeigler out in the first half ultimately proved costly when the game came down to crunch time. The versatile guard sliced and diced on the offensive end and leaned more into the scoring side of the game, leading Tennessee with 13 second-half points.

Tennessee’s defense helped, too. The Tide had some good ball movement in the early portion of the second half but, at times, went back to some old habits of trying to drive into a crowd and earn a trip to the line. It wasn’t a bad strategy, given the way the game was being officiated, but Tennessee was ready for it.

Instead of getting calls, Alabama players failed to convert on layups and had their shots swatted. Tennessee had four blocks in the second half after just one in the first half. That led to a dry spell that lasted over two minutes heading into the under-four media timeout. Tennessee’s defense found its prototypical shot-stopping rhythm, holding Alabama to 0.97 points per possession in the second half after Alabama averaged 1.2 in the first half.

Free-throw shooting was also critical in Tennessee, flipping the game back in its favor. The Vols were far from perfect at the line, but converted on 73% of their free throws compared to just a 65% mark for Alabama. After a missed free throw with 30 seconds left, Tennessee drew a foul on the rebound and converted its next two to tie the game.

Though it was a heartbreaker for Alabama, the Tide battled against the best defense in the country with some strong play of its on that end.

Tennesee is known for its defense. But the Volunteers wouldn’t be ranked where they are if they couldn’t generate points on the offensive end. Tennessee runs an efficient offensive unit with the SEC’s assist leader in Zeigler and a top-five scorer in Chaz Lainer.

In order to match the Vols' physicality on defense, Oats stressed that Alabama had to do the same. His players lived up to that challenge. Alabama constantly hedged and went over ball screens to prevent open 3s. The bigs played well in drop coverage on those actions and contested a few lob attempts by Zeigler and others that would have sent the rabid Tennessee crowd into a frenzy.

The Volunteers managed to clean things up in the turnover department, but Alabama’s intense defensive pressure in the first half forced eight first-half giveaways, many coming at the hands of freshman Labaron Philon. The talented guard was the most impressive player for much of Saturday’s game and finished with 13 points and five steals.

However, the Tide only forced four second-half turnovers as Tennessee was able to get in an offensive rhythm. The Vols did enough despite losing the rebounding battle, surrendering 10 Alabama offensive boards and coughing it up in the first half. Tennessee forced 12 Alabama turnovers, including the out-of-bounds giveaway in the closing seconds.

Alabama returns to Tuscaloosa to face No. 3 Florida. The Gators (24-4, 11-4) face No. 12 Texas A&M on Saturday night before taking on the Tide. Tipoff between Alabama and Florida is set for 6 p.m. CT Wednesday inside Coleman Coliseum. The game will be broadcast on ESPN 2.