All eyes in the college basketball world were on the Tennessee versus Alabama game on Saturday night. It was on ESPN primetime, and it featured a professional basketball player, Charles Bediako, but a Tennessee Vol stole the show.
Nate Ament scored a career high 29 points in the 79-73 win over Nate Oat's Crimson Tide. He shot an efficient 10-20 from the field, and 2-3 from three-point land. Ament’s path to success hasn’t been a straight line, though. All year, he's had high expectations, being a former top-5 recruit and a future NBA first-round pick.
Ament was still averaging 15 points a night going into the Alabama game, but he was inefficient, especially early on, and he was disappearing in big games. In an early December loss to Illinois, Ament had just nine points on 4-14 shooting. Against the top tier of college basketball teams, he wasn't very effective, and the overall physicality got to him.
Rick Barnes has reiterated that Ament has all the tools, and he’s not wrong, but it hasn’t always shown on the floor. That changed over the last few games, averaging 19 points in an efficient fashion against Florida, Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Saturday night felt like the true turning point.
Nate Ament was a superstar on Saturday night
It was clear from the opening tip that Barnes wanted to get Ament going early. He responded with 11 points by halftime, consistently attacking the rim and playing with confidence.
Ament didn't back away from a physical Alabama team either. This was a play that he wouldn't have scored on a month ago, but he's different now. With an explosive first step off the dribble, he got past London Jemison and delivered a contact finish for an and-1.
This is by far Nate Ament’s best play of the night because it shows his growth.
— Brandon Meeks (@MeeksKnowsBall) January 25, 2026
The big knock on him early on was that he went away from contact and lacked physicality. A lot of finishes ended in him fading away.
NBA Draft stock 📈
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With 11 minutes left and the game tied at 57, Ament drilled a clutch three to give Tennessee the lead. From that moment on, it felt like the Vols’ game, and it was. Over the final seven minutes, Ament scored six of Tennessee’s 11 points, proving he can be a reliable option when it matters most down the stretch.
Watching Ament evolve his game in such a short span, especially over the last month, has been one of the most refreshing developments for this team. The sky is the limit for the freshman star, and if this level of play continues, both his draft stock and Tennessee’s March potential will only keep rising.