Tennessee Basketball Defeats Alabama on The Road

The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 79-73 on Saturday night. The victory marks the 5th straight contest between the two with the Vols coming out on top.

Jan 24, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers forward Nate Ament (10) shoots over Alabama Crimson Tide center Charles Bediako (14) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | David Leong-Imagn Images

The Volunteers were back in action on Saturday night after not having to play a mid-week game this past week. They took the trip to Tuscaloosa to take on rivals Alabama, a series in which Tennessee had won the last four editions. Tennessee came into this game 12-6 (3-3) and was looking to avoid its first multiple-game losing streak of conference play. The biggest storyline of the game had nothing to do with Tennessee or even the rivalry; it had to do with Alabama’s Charles Bediako, who was playing in his first game at Alabama after playing two years of professional basketball before getting a restraining order to rejoin college basketball and play his first collegiate game since 2023.

Head coach Rick Barnes made a change in the starting lineup as he decided to start redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella for the first time in his career. Estrella has been a big boost to Tennessee’s team this season and makes for a feel-good story after his true sophomore year came to an end early with a foot injury, only allowing him to play in three games. 

Tennessee defeats the Crimson Tide

Jan 24, 2026; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie (0) dribbles past Alabama Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon (0) during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images | David Leong-Imagn Images

Tennessee did not have a great start offensively; it took the Vols almost 12 minutes to hit their first three of the game. However, their great defensive play kept them from going down by too much. Tennessee eventually got it going offensively towards the end of the first half and ended up being down three, 36-39, at the half. Despite the high score, neither team could shoot from beyond the arc, with Tennessee shooting 33% and Alabama shooting 29% from three in the first half. 

Tennessee retook the lead just over 90 seconds into the second half for the first time since the game was 4-2. 

Tennessee suffered a scare around the 10:18 mark in the second half as just seconds apart, Jaylen Carey and Bishop Boswell both hit the deck. Boswell ended up walking off the pain, but Carey needed more attention and had to leave the game. 

After taking some more back-and-forth play between the two schools, Tennessee flipped a switch and went on a run to get its largest lead of the game with 6:21 left in the game (70-63). Tennessee held onto the lead for the rest of the game and pulled out a must-needed victory over the Tide, winning 79-73

Nate Ament had the best game of his Vols career. The freshman took over the game and finished with 29 points and 7 rebounds. Ament’s performance has been getting better, but his game was on a different level. 

Other than Ament, Ja’Kobi Gillespie added 24 points, and Felix Okpara grabbed 8 rebounds. J.P Estrella had 6 points in his first career start. As for the Crimson Tide, LaBaron Philon Jr led the way with 26 points. Bediako had a solid second college debut, putting up 13 points in the loss.

With the result, Tennessee is now 13-6 and 4-3 in conference play. The Vols have a quick turnaround as they travel to UGA on Tuesday with tipoff set for 7:00 P.M. on the SEC Network.

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