Jordan McRae scored 9 points before fouling out.
Photo by Reed Carringer

NASHVILLE— After a physical first half, Alabama led Tennessee 31-27. Both teams struggled offensively after a hot start, and Alabama’s athleticism clearly bothered the Vols on both ends of the floor. Alabama remained in control in the second half and led by as many as six until the Vols cut it to 44-41 on a McRae 3 with 12:15 to play. The Tide stretched the lead to nine at the 9:42 mark thanks to a Nick Jacobs jumper. Tennessee made a run and cut the lead to four at the 5:27 mark, but Alabama quickly reestablished control and the Vols simply couldn’t get a shot to fall down the stretch.

Offense: Trae Golden has been the key to Tennessee’s success all year. When he scores 12 or more the Vols are 12-0. When he scores in double-figures Tennessee is 15-3. When he fails to reach double figures UT is 5-7. When he doesn’t play the Vols are 1-1. In this afternoon’s game he finished a miserable 1-7 from the floor and scored just two points. The Vols have won 9 of their last 11 games, but in their two losses Golden was a combined 2-17 from the floor.

Jordan McRae has undoubtably been Tennessee’s best offensive player this year, but was limited by foul trouble most of the game. He recorded  nine points (3-13 shooting) before fouling out with 1:48 to play. In the paint, Jarnell Stokes scored 12 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 15th double-double this year.

Trae Golden scored just 2 points.
Photo by Reed Carringer

The Vols were led by Josh Richardson, who was the only Vols starter to hit at least 50% of his shots (6-12). Known more as a defensive specialist, Richardson scored 16 points and pulled down five rebounds. He did an excellent job of slashing to the basket, and was the only Vol to consistently attack the basket.

Tennessee guards other than Richardson (Golden, McRae, McBee, and Moore) were a combined 6-31 from the field, and the Vols shot 32.1% for the game, 21.7% from 3, and 50% from the free-throw line.

Defense: The Vols limited the Tide to 41.3% shooting, but struggled getting stops at key times and allowed Alabama to shoot 50% from 3 (5-10).  Two Alabama guards scored in double-figures, Trevor Releford (14 points) and Levi Randolph (15 points). Tennessee outrebounded the Tide 37-35, and both teams committed 10 turnovers. Alabama outscored the Vols by eight at the free-throw line, and UT fell to 3-8 in games were an opponent attempted more free-throws.

Final Take: Cuonzo said after the game, “Both teams competed. We had some looks just didn’t capitalize on them. I thought we had good energy. Ten turnovers against their press, I thought we did a good job of handling their press. We just didn’t make plays and they made the plays down the stretch.”

Tennessee must wait until selection Sunday to see if they’ve done enough to earn an NCAA Tournament birth.

Martin was asked why he believes the Vols deserve to make the field of 68, “Our overall resume and the teams we’ve beaten in the SEC, which up until last Saturday had 9 teams in the top 100 of the RPI, the only other league to have more was the Big East, ” Martin said shortly after the game. “You finish 9 out of your last 11 at this point in one of the best leagues in the country. So I think we deserve it. We beat Top 25 teams, we beat Top 50 teams, we beat Top 100 teams. Our resume stacks up against the best when you’re talking about bubble teams.”

After the loss, Tennessee’s RPI fell just two spots to 57th while Alabama’s RPI moved up to 60th. Vol fans need to pull for all the other bubble teams to lose (Ole Miss, Alabama, Kentucky, etc) and hope that their late season surge catches the eye of the NCAA selection committee.

Up Next: The NCAA Tournament brackets will be announced Sunday at 6 p.m. (TV: CBS)