Bama Central

Live Updates From No. 17 Alabama Basketball Against Tennessee

Score updates and analysis as the Crimson Tide takes on the Volunteers in the return of Charles Bediako.
Hunter De Siver|
Alabama Center Charles Bediako (14) dunks the ball against Vandy at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023.
Alabama Center Charles Bediako (14) dunks the ball against Vandy at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023. | Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

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Alabama Crimson Tide

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No. 17 Alabama will play its 19th game of the regular season, and the sixth of SEC play, on Saturday, Jan. 24, at home against Tennessee.

The Crimson Tide came back from double-digit deficits in each of its last two games, but UA's next matchup has 10 times the amount of attention on it, and it doesn't even have to do with the rivalry.

Former Alabama Tide center Charles Bediako sued the NCAA earlier this week with hopes of gaining collegiate eligibility, and after being granted a temporary restraining order by a Tuscaloosa judge, he's available to play for Alabama against the Vols and will come off the bench tonight. This makes the NBA G League player immediately eligible to play for the Crimson Tide, including Saturday's game. However, this is a 10-day restraining order, as a hearing is scheduled for Jan. 27.

Bediako has become the center of the college basketball world over the last week, as numerous coaches and media outlets have spread this story and sparked debates. It's uncertain at this time how long Bediako will be on the floor, but it is certain that all eyes will be on him when the ball is in his hands on Saturday night in Coleman Coliseum.

Follow along for live updates and analysis from Coleman Coliseum. Be sure to refresh your browser as the most recent events will be placed at the top of this page.

FINAL: Tennessee 79, Alabama 73

  • This is Alabama's first five-game losing streak to Tennessee since 1968-72. The Crimson Tide hasn't beaten the Volunteers since Dec. 29, 2021.

Second Half

  • Fans hit the exits with Tennessee at the charity stripe up 5 after hitting one of its two free throws.
  • Houston Mallette with another signature timeout before going out of bounds. Alabama trails Tennessee 77-73 with 45.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
  • Alabama's lineup before the timeout with 2:16 remaining in regulation:
    6-4 Labaron Philon
    6-3 Latrell Wrightsell
    6-10 Taylor Bol Bowen
    7-0 Charles Bediako
    7-0 Noah Williamson
  • TIMEOUT (2:58 2H): Tennessee 77, Alabama 73: Alabama has no answers for Nate Ament (29 points) and Ja'Kobi Gillespie (23), as the Tennessee duo has combined for 52 of Tennessee's 77 points.
  • Huge and-1 play by Taylor Bol Bowen to hopefully get a momentum swing for the Crimson Tide down 70-68 with under six minutes remaining in regulation.
  • TIMEOUT (7:34 2H): Tennessee 64, Alabama 63: Alabama's shooting is lacking a bit recently, as The Crimson Tide hasn't hit a field goal attempt in the last 2:21. We're nearing crunch time in Coleman Coliseum. Alabama hasn't lost five consecutive games to Tennessee since 1968-72.
  • Fun fact: Labaron Philon just tallied his 13th game of scoring 20+ points this season. Former Alabama and current Charlotte Hornets forward Brandon Miller had 14 games of 20+ points in 2022-23. This is Philon's 18th game this season, while Miller played 37 games in 2022-23.
  • Houston Mallette, who Oats gushes over any time his name is mentioned, just screamed "LET'S GO!" after drawing a shooting foul. The guard has five offensive rebounds tonight.
  • Coleman Coliseum started rioting after a questionable whistle blown on Alabama. That energy continued to build and reached his peak when Bediako had an and-1 slam.
  • TIMEOUT (11:44 2H): Alabama 57, Tennessee 57: We've got a fun one here as Alabama is 5 of its last 5 from the field. Labaron Philon Jr. tied the game up with a ankle-breaking stepback 3 before timeout -- bringing Coleman Coliseum on its feet.

TIMEOUT (15:59 2H): Tennessee 48, Alabama 44: Rough start on both ends for Alabama, as Tennessee is 5 of 6 shooting in the second half while the Crimson Tide is 2 of 7. Not having Aden Holloway and Amari Allen is showing offensively right now.

HALFTIME: Alabama 39, Tennessee 36

Nate Oats to Crimson Tide Sports Network at the break: "We gave them some easy buckets we can't afford to give up. We're wasting possessions on offense with poor shots or not knowing what we're in. We've got to sharpen some stuff up."

5 Standout Halftime Stats from Alabama-Tennessee:

  • Charles Bediako has 8 points, 1 block and 1 steal in 11 minutes
  • Labaron Philon and Latrell Wrightsell each have 11 points
  • Alabama started up 5-1 on the OREB but finished winning 7-6
  • Both teams shooting under 35% from deep. Alabama only attempted seven 3-pointers in the first half. Tide averages 36 attempts per game
  • Alabama only has 3 turnovers (Philon 2, Wrightsell 1)

First Half

  • Labaron Philon Jr. heated up a bit to close the first half.
  • TIMEOUT (3:11 1H): Alabama 32, Tennessee 29: Things are starting to get a bit physical in Coleman Coliseum and Charles Bediako is standing out in that asset. He's up to 8 points, making all 4 of his attempts in 8 minutes of action.
  • Charles Bediako and Aiden Sherrell are sharing the floor with Alabama up 30-26 with under 5 minutes remaining in the first half.
  • TIMEOUT (7:22 1H): Alabama 24, Tennessee 19: Another frenzy moment started by Charles Bediako, as his block led to an alley-oop finish by Jalil Bethea. However, this ended a 7-0 run by Tennessee.
  • Bediako checks back in with 9:52 remaining in the first half and Alabama up 20-12. Once again, there was applause — don't be surprised if that's the case every time he checks in tonight.
  • TIMEOUT (11:46 1H): Alabama 16, Tennessee 12: Welcome back Charles Bediako! In his first 3 minutes back in college basketball, he had 4 points on 2 of 2 from the field, including a slam dunk that created one Coleman Coliseum's loudest moments this season. Alabama's done well defensively, as Tennessee went nearly 3 minutes without scoring and the Vols have 4 turnovers.
  • Bediako checks out at the 13:18 mark. In his first minutes back in college basketball, he had four points on 2 of 2 from the field.
  • 14:45: Alabama had a lineup with Charles Bediako and Aiden Sherrell at the same time. Could be something to keep an eye on between these two seven footers the rest of the way.
  • Bediako gets back-to-back buckets, sending Alabama fans in a frenzy. The first basket was a slam dunk off the in-bounds pass — one of loudest sequences in Coleman Coliseum this season.
  • TIMEOUT (15:47 1H): Alabama 10, Tennessee 8: Good start for Latrell Wrightsell Jr. with six points and a steal. Wrightsell missed the last three games with an injury. Alabama has a 5-1 edge on the offensive glass.
  • Charles Bediako checks in at the 16:11 to a standing ovation. It's time for the biggest story in college basketball to come to life.
  • 17:40 1H, tied at 4 apiece: Alabama guard Houston Mallette calls a mid-air timeout as the ball was headed out of bounds. He's done that a couple times lately. Regardless, the Crimson Tide is now down to three timeouts for the rest of the game.

Pregame

Alabama Starters
G Labaron Philon Jr.
G Houston Mallette
G Latrell Wrightsell Jr.
F Taylor Bol Bowen
F Aiden Sherrell

Tennessee Starters
G Ja'Kobi Gillespie
G Bishop Boswell
F Nate Ament
F J.P. Estrella
C Felix Okpara

  • Alabama football head coach Kalen DeBoer is in Coleman Coliseum for tonight's game.

Nate Oats on the CTSN pregame show regarding Charles Bediako:

"He got in Thursday. We had a walk-through just to get him familiar with some of what we’re doing, what we need him to do both sides of the ball — offense, defense. We tried to put in the sets that we’re still learning from when he was here. Give him some familiarity. Friday, he practiced. Normal practice. Looked great. Same Charles that left us — catch lobs, rim roller, can guard the post well, shot blocker. Kind of familiar with our system.

"[Assistant coach] Brian Adams wasn’t here when he was here. [Assistant coach] Chris Fleming wasn’t here when he was here. So he’s getting a little more familiar with those two. Great, great kid. Everybody loves having him here. He’s always been a great teammate. Fit in great in practice. Went through walk-through today."

  • Alabama HC Nate Oats told the CTSN pregame show that the plan is to have at least one of Aiden Sherrell or Charles Bediako on the floor at all times tonight against Tennessee.
  • Aden Holloway is wearing a brace on his wrist and is in street clothes. He's been ruled out against Tennessee. He's missed time this season before with a wrist injury.
  • Despite all of the pressure put on him, Bediako made sure to sign autographs for some young fans.
  • Charles Bediako, the man of the night, has arrived in Coleman Coliseum.

Alabama's Final Availability Report (Jan. 24):

  • Collins Onyejiaka — Out
  • Davion Hannah — Out
  • Keitenn Bristow — Out
  • Aden Holloway — Out
  • Amari Allen — Out

Holloway and Hannah, Alabama's second and third highest scorers this season, are out against Tennessee. The Crimson Tide will have the following scholarship players available in their absence:

G Labaron Philon
G Houston Mallette
G Latrell Wrightsell (missed last three games)
G Jalil Bethea
F Aiden Sherrell
F London Jemison
F Taylor Bowen
C Charles Bediako (temporary eligibility)
C Noah Williamson

Tennessee Final Availability Report (Jan. 24):

  • Cade Phillips — Out
  • Troy Henderson — Out

How to Watch: Alabama vs. Tennessee

Who: Tennessee (12-6, 2-3 SEC) at No. 17 Alabama (13-5, 3-2 SEC)

What: Alabama's sixth game of SEC Play (third at home)

When: Saturday, Jan. 24, 7:30 p.m. CT

Where: Coleman Coliseum, Tuscaloosa, Ala.

TV: ESPN

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Bryan Passink). The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

SiriusXM: Channel 84 (Alabama), Channel 190 (Tennessee)

Series: Alabama leads 81-74, with the first matchup occurring on Feb. 6, 1914. The Crimson Tide is 45-24 all-time against the Volunteers at home, but the exact opposite, 24-45, on the road.

Last Meeting: The then-No. 6 Crimson Tide fell to then-No. 5 Tennessee 79-76 on the road on March 1, 2025. The Volunteers got it done in March Madness fashion as Jahmai Mashack hit a deep three at the buzzer. This was the last part of a 7-0 run by Tennessee in the final 30 seconds. The game was purely a battle of the guards, as Mark Sears (24 points), Labaron Philon (13), Aden Holloway (11) and Chris Youngblood (2) combined for 50 of Alabama's points, while Chaz Lanier (18), Jordan Gainey (18), Zakai Zeigler (15) and Mashack (11) went for 62. The backcourts for both teams scored 112 of the game's 155 points (72.3 percent).

Last time out, Alabama: The then-No. 18 Crimson Tide outlasted Oklahoma 83-81 on the road on Jan. 17. The contest was gridlocked at the beginning, but the Sooners found a way to end the first half on an 11-0 run. Nevertheless, within the first eight minutes of the second half, Aiden Sherrell was already up to 19 points, including 12 of UA's first 24 points in that time frame. Labaron Philon Jr. proceeded to take over, as he finished with 23 points, including 17 in the second half alone. This duo was responsible for 31 of Alabama's 50 second-half points.

Last time out, Tennessee: The then-No. 24 Volunteers fell to Kentucky 80-78 after blowing a 17-point lead at home on Jan. 17. Ja'Kobi Gillespie (24 points) and Nate Ament (17) played key roles in building the big lead, as they combined for 41 points. But the rest of Tennessee couldn't maintain the margin, as no other player scored more than eight points. The Wildcats had four players score between 10 and 12 points, while Denzel Aberdeen tallied 22.

Alabama Stat Leaders

  • Points: Labaron Philon Jr. (22.0 on 53.4 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Amari Allen (7.8, including 1.9 offensive)
  • Assists: Labaron Philon Jr. (4.9 with 2.8 turnovers)

Tennessee Stat Leaders

  • Points: Ja'Kobi Gillespie (18.6 on 42.7 FG%)
  • Rebounds: Jaylen Carey (6.4, including 3.1 offensive)
  • Assists: Ja'Kobi Gillespie (5.6 with 2.6 turnovers)

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Hunter De Siver
HUNTER DE SIVER

Hunter De Siver is the lead basketball writer for BamaCentral and has covered Crimson Tide football since 2024. He previously distributed stories about the NFL and NBA for On SI and was a staff writer for Missouri Tigers On SI and Cowbell Corner. Before that, Hunter generated articles highlighting Crimson Tide products in the NFL and NBA for BamaCentral as an intern in 2022 and 2023. Hunter is a graduate from the University of Alabama, earning a degree in sports media in 2023.

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