WOW. Only thing I can think of as I sit down at the computer to encapsulate what I just saw.
Tennessee picked up a gigantic win on Saturday at The Food City Center at Thompson-Boling Arena, beating #6 Alabama 79-76. With the game tied with 3.8 seconds left, Jahmai Mashack took the inbounds pass and dribbled up the court, and interestingly not with a huge amount of urgency. However, well before he reached the three-point line, he released a shot just before the buzzer sounded, and it splashed through with all zeroes on the clock, giving Tennessee the win before a frenzied Big Orange crowd.
Tennessee had four players reach double figures, with Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey leading Tennessee with 18 points each. Zakai Zeigler had 15 points, and Mashack added 11.
It was a game that stayed neck and neck through almost all of the first half. From the time Tennessee had a 7-2 lead just 3 minutes in and then had a 33-29 lead with under 5 minutes left in the first half, the game was a one-possession game between the teams, with the lead see sawing through most of the half. However, Bama surged late in the first half to take a 42-38 lead into the locker room. The Vols got a big and-one from Gainey with less than a second left to bring the lead closer going the half.
Bama get Tennessee mostly at bay for the first ten minutes of the second half, pushing the lead out to 9 and 62-53 at the halfway point of the frame, and the game felt like it was starting to slip away a bit. But Zeigler knocked down a big three from the top of the key on the next possession to bring the game closer, and three minutes later he knocked down another one to finally bring Tennessee even at 66.
The two sides remained even almost the rest of the way until Mark Sears knocked down a long contested three with 2 minutes left to put Bama up 73-70. They pushed the lead to two scores at 76-72 with just over 30 seconds left, but Lanier drove the lane and got an and-one to make it 76-74. He missed the free throw, but Mashack drew a foul on the rebound and knocked both down to tie the game.
Then, Tennessee’s defense gave them a chance to win. Mashack forced a jump ball, then the Vols forced a five second turnover to get the ball back with 3.8 left. The rest is history.
Tennessee just stepped over Alabama into a one seed spot all but certainly after this win, improving to 24-5 (11-5 SEC). The Vols close next week at Ole Miss and at home against South Carolina.
My goodness, what a game.