Tennessee had the best bounce-back one could ask for on Saturday night, extending the win streak over Alabama to five straight with a 79-73 road win. Rick Barnes' squad was playing in a road whiteout game at the Coleman Coliseum against an Alabama team that just got a huge spark with the addition of former pro Charles Bediako.
It only took Charles Bediako 2 seconds to make Tennessee fans angrier with him playing
Tennessee was missing freshman Troy Henderson, who hit a huge shot versus Texas A&M last week. Alabama had its share of injuries, too. Guard Aden Holloway and forward Amari Allen were missing for the Crimson Tide, but they still are the best offensive team in the nation, and they gave Tennessee all they had.
Nate Ament has a career day carrying Tennessee to a huge road win
Rick Barnes always knew that Alabama was going to get its share of buckets. Labaron Philon had 26 points, but Tennessee's stars stepped up in the biggest moments and delivered haymakers of their own.
Only two Vols reached double figures, and fittingly, they were the two players who have the ability to carry this team to its true potential. Nate Ament and Ja'Kobi Gillespie.
Ament poured in a career-high 29 points, scoring from all over the floor. Every time he found himself in an iso situation on the wing, you could feel a bucket coming.
Tennessee also took care of the ball much better than they have recently, too, and that starts with point guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie. He added 24 points himself with 4 assists and two turnovers. The Vols only gave up the ball 10 times, a marked improvement compared to their recent struggles with ball security.
Tennessee's defense was great, too. They held Alabama to only 73 points, their lowest mark of the year. Sure, they were missing two of their best scorers, but Charles Bediako was great. He added a bag of post moves in the G-League, and he was a constant force down low.
The three-point defense was phenomenal. Tennessee held the Crimson Tide to 23% from beyond the arc and 43% from the field overall.
If this version of Tennessee is here to stay, they will be a hard team to compete with.