In a gritty SEC battle, the Tennessee Volunteers managed to defeat the Alabama Crimson tide 79-76 thanks to Jahmai Mashack’s buzzer beater three ball, his only attempt behind the arc of the night.
The Vols stifled the Crimson Tide late, going on a 7-0 run to finish the game. Bama had the chance to have the last shot attempt but Freshman Labaron Philon failed to inbound the ball in five seconds.
Mashack would then run the floor, pull up from several feet behind the arc and BANG, buzzer beater, NCAA game of the year.
In all the SEC shuffle, some clarity has emerged– because of this game’s outcome, the Auburn Tigers have won the SEC regular season and will be the number one seed in the SEC tournament.
Florida, Alabama and Tennessee are the other three schools that would receive a first-round by as of today but look out for Missouri; they could potentially replace Tennessee in the culmination of the regular season.
What This Means For The Tennessee Volunteers
For Tennessee, this win was crucial for postseason play. As mentioned before, they’ve let Missouri creep back into the picture for an SEC tournament first-round by but this win keeps them in the fourth seed.
Nonetheless, Tennessee fans have to be motivated by this victory, Alabama is ranked No. 6 and should possibly be higher; beating a team of this caliber is a March Madness type of win and it wasn’t just a singular player carrying their team to the finish line.
Schools that make it to the final stages of the NCAA tournament almost always have depth; role players & bench players that make winning plays when called upon.
Tennessee proved that they have that today. Zakai Zeigler and Chaz Lanier, the Vol’s best two players, took care of the scoring but effort plays came from everybody, especially Jahmai Mashack.
To close the game Mashack forced a foul off of Lanier’s missed free throw in the final thirty seconds(resulting in 2 FTs), then, forced a jump ball on Alabama’s next possession, then, hit the buzzer beater three ball. All winning plays.
Mark Sear’s Brilliance Continues For Alabama
Don’t get it twisted, this loss doesn’t diminish Alabama’s profile too much, if at all. They’ve had it rough the past couple weeks, facing ranked opponents in their last five game.
In that five game stretch, senior guard Mark Sears has averaged 25.6 points on 42% shooting. Sears is also the first SEC player in 20 years to have 20+ points in four straight games versus ranked opponents.
His scoring has kept Alabama in every game but in three of their last five, it wasn’t enough to get the win.
Today was a prime example of that; Sears had 24 points with four three-pointers but his overextending effort physical taxed him to the point of leg cramps most of the second half.
Alabama certainly had the offensive firepower to take down the Volunteers but the highest scoring on the offense in the league put up 14 less than their average in today’s battle.
Grant Nelson, Alabama’s difference maker in the paint, has struggled on the offensive glass as of late which has been detrimental to the Crimson Tide’s success.
Nelson hasn’t scored double digits in their past four games.
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