University of Tennessee Athletics
Saturday, February 28
Knoxville, TN
6 PM ET
University of Tennessee
20-9,10-6SEC
69
vs
71
Alabama
22-7,12-4SEC
1
2
F
Alabama
28
43
71
Tennessee
40
29
69
#22 Vols Drop 71-69 Result to #17/18 Alabama
February 28, 2026 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men's basketball team led by 13 with under 12 minutes to go Saturday night at a sold-out Food City Center, but fell to No. 17/18 Alabama, 71-69.
Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie totaled 26 points and a career-high-tying eight steals, matching his own program record, for No. 22 Tennessee (20-9, 10-6 SEC), which led for 36:37 and did not trail until the last 24 seconds, despite freshman forward Nate Ament missing all but 2:25 of the final 28 minutes due to a right leg injury.
The Volunteers forced four misses and four turnovers to open the night and did not allow a point until 4:29 into the contest, with Gillespie notching three steals in the first 3:22 alone.
Tennessee soon thereafter made five shots in a row on its way to claiming a 26-16 lead with 5:25 left, at which time Gillespie's steal total was at six. It held Alabama (22-7, 12-4 SEC) without a point for 5:07, forcing five straight misses and three turnovers.
The margin reached 12, 36-24, on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Amari Evans with 100 seconds left in the session and held steady at a dozen, 40-28, entering the locker room. Gillespie totaled 15 points and seven steals in the first 20 minutes, while his team had a 16-5 edge on the offensive glass and a 17-3 margin in second-chance points.
Alabama, after its lowest-scoring half of the season, opened the second frame with 12-4 run in the first 2:07 to cut its deficit to four, 44-40. The burst included a trio of 3-pointers, one of which featured an and-one made free throw.
Tennessee answered with six straight points to spark an 11-2 run that gave it a game-high 13-point cushion, 55-42 with 12:16 left. It held the Crimson Tide without a make from the floor for 5:59, forcing six consecutive mises.
Alabama used a 5-of-6 field-goal stretch, including a three-point play and a 3-pointer in just 42 seconds, to get the margin to two with 4:35 left. Tennessee then scored the next four points to make it 67-61 with 3:41 to go, but Alabama sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr., tallied six straight points in 42 seconds to level the game—the first time since it was scoreless—at 67 with 2:32 remaining.
Redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella put the Volunteers back in front just 26 seconds later, but Alabama pulled even at 69 with 1:11 on the timer. Philon then put Alabama in front for the first time on a jump-shot with 24 seconds to go, as the visitors made their seventh shot in nine tries. Tennessee missed at the other end and the Crimson Tide snapped a five-game series losing streak.
In addition to logging the third-best point total of his career and tying the program record for steals he set 10 days prior, Gillespie added a game-best seven assists and a co-season-high five rebounds. The Greeneville, Tenn., native, who became the first player in SEC history with eight steals in multiple league outings, also committed just one turnover in 36 minutes of action.
Estrella finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Jaylen Carey had 10 points and a co-game-high nine rebounds. The latter mark equaled that of senior forward Felix Okpara, who added eight points and a team-best two blocks, the latter of which put him past 100 as a Volunteer, despite missing five-plus minutes due to illness.
Graduate guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., scored 25 points to pace the Crimson Tide, finishing 8-of-12 from the field, 6-of-9 beyond the arc and 3-of-4 at the line. Philon had 23 points, including 15 in the second half and eight in the last 3:12, on a 9-of-14 clip from the floor. Junior guard Aden Holloway chipped in 12 points.
The Volunteers capped the night with a 25-9 margin on the offensive glass and a 25-10 tally in second-chance points, as well as a 40-26 edge in paint points. However, the Crimson Tide shot 10-of-27 (37.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) at the line.
Tennessee's next contest is Tuesday at 6 p.m. against South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., live on SEC Network.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee compiled their fifth regular season sellout of 2025-26, alongside the Dec. 16 outing against Louisville, the Jan. 17 game versus Kentucky, the Jan. 31 contest against Auburn and the Feb. 14 matchup with LSU.
• The 21,678 fans in the arena Saturday tied for the seventh-highest single-game attendance of the season thus far in college basketball, matching Tennessee's games versus Louisville, Kentucky, Auburn and LSU.
• Tennessee now has 29 sellouts over the last five years—five in 2025-26, eight in 2024-25, eight in 2023-24, five in 2022-23 and three in 2021-22—and possesses a 23-6 mark in those games, including an 18-4 record since Feb. 15, 2023.
• The Volunteers fell to 41-17 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 36-15 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 30-9 under head coach Rick Barnes.
• Tennessee is now 99-36 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 40-12 under Barnes, with 37 of the latter 52 over the past five years (2021-26).
• Saturday's crowd included current/former professional VFLs such as 11-year NFL veteran Ramon Foster, two-time NFL First Team All-Pro Albert Haynesworth, two-time NBA All-Star Allan Houston, five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning, four-year NFL veteran Cade Mays, two-time NFL Pro Bowler Trey Smith, 12-year NFL veteran Luke Stocker and 2025 NFL Second Team All-Pro Darnell Wright.
• The Volunteers dropped to 7-4 in the last 11 series meetings, a period that extends back to March 4, 2017.
• Tennessee's five-game series winning streak, its third-longest ever against the Crimson Tide, came to an end Saturday.
• Five of the past seven series meetings have featured both teams ranked in the top 25—the teams split the eight prior such outings—with Tennessee posting a 3-2 record in those contests.
• Now 12 of the series' last 14 games, including 10 of the past 11, have featured a single-digit scoring margin.
• Tennessee has now held Alabama to 70.9 points per game in its 10 matchups during Nate Oats' tenure there as head coach, without allowing greater than 76 in any contest, while the Crimson Tide has averaged 85.8 points per game against all other opponents in those seven seasons (2019-26).
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee now owns a 28-11 (.718) record in the second leg of regular season home-and-homes.
• Across the last five campaigns (2021-26), Tennessee has played just 24 games as a lower-ranked team and now possesses a 14-10 record, including a 4-2 mark in 2025-26.
• The Volunteers are now 40-31 (.563) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 19-11 (.613) in their last 31 such games, dating to Dec. 9, 2023.
• Tennessee fell to 48-46 (.511) versus AP top-25 teams in Barnes' tenure, including 32-19 (.627) in its past 51 such affairs, dating to Jan. 22, 2022.
• The Volunteers are now 42-38 (.525) against AP top-20 foes in the Barnes era, including to 28-15 (.651) in their last 43 such outings, since Jan. 22, 2022.
• Tennessee dropped to 24-9 (.727) versus AP top-25 teams at home under Barnes' direction, including 19-3 (.864) in its last 22 such games, since Jan. 30, 2021.
• The Volunteers are now 19-8 (.704) at home against AP top-20 foes with Barnes as head coach, including 15-3 (.833) in their last 18 such contests, also since Jan. 30, 2021.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 28 of 29 games this year, with 15-plus in 19 outings, 17-plus 11 times and 20-plus on six occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 26 of 29 contests, with 40-plus in 18, 42-plus in 17, 45-plus in 14 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 29 outings thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 25 occasions, with 17-plus in 17 games, 20-plus in seven and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 28 games this season, Tennessee has played just three (2-1) that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side.
• The Volunteers committed just six turnovers in the contest, their lowest mark of the season, and lost while holding the edge in points off turnovers for the first time in 2025-26.
• Tennessee became just the second Division I team this season to shoot 60-plus 2-pointers and single-digit free throws, alongside Lamar in a Nov. 23, 2025, contest at Montana.
• Ament missed the final 7:42 of the first half and the last 17:53 of the second half with a right leg injury, while Okpara missed the last 5:11 of the first half due to illness.
• The 28 points Alabama scored before the intermission marked its lowest in any half throughout the 2025-26 season.
• Wrightsell's four-point play with 17:53 left in the contest marked the first by a Tennessee foe since Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford posted one Jan. 31 with 13:35 remaining in the second half.
• Tennessee has now allowed an opposing duo to each score 20-plus points in back-to-back games after not doing so for 59 consecutive outings, as it last happened Nov. 22, 2024, versus Baylor in Nassau, Bahamas.
• At the 10:12 mark of the first half, Okpara logged his 100th block as a Volunteer, becoming the 20th Tennessee player all-time to reach triple digits.
• Just 21 seconds later, with 9:51 on the first-half timer, Okpara registered the 750th rebound of his four-year collegiate career.
• Gillespie is the first player in SEC history with eight steals multiple times in conference competition, achieving the feat twice in a four-game span, as he also logged eight Feb. 18 against Oklahoma.
• Gillespie is just the fourth player in SEC history with eight-plus steals multiple times, joining LSU's Shawn Griggs (three), Mississippi State's Gary Hooker and LSU's Tremont Waters.
• Gillespie is the second player in Tennessee history with seven-plus steals twice, joining Clarence Swearengen, who did so once in 1987-88 (March 11, 1988, versus Florida in Baton Rouge, La.) and once in 1988-89 (Dec. 20, 1988, versus UAB).
• Over the last 20 seasons (2006-26), Gillespie is one of just 13 Division I players to log eight-plus steals multiple times in a single campaign, including the second in a Power Six conference.
• The last Power Six player with two eight-steal outings in a single season—he is the only other to do so in the past 20 years (2006-26)—is Seton Hall's Paul Gause, who did so in 2007-08.
• Gillespie is the fifth Division I player in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) with eight-plus steals twice a season in conference action, including the only one in a Power Six league, joining Merrimack's Juvaris Hayes (2019-20), Gardner-Webb's Laquincy Rideau (2016-17), Hawaii's Roderick Bobbitt (2014-15) and Lipscomb's Josh Slater (2010-11).
• Gillespie posted 20-plus points for the 26th time in his career, including the 12th this season at Tennessee.
• Saturday marked the sixth time Gillespie has eclipsed 25 points as a collegian, with half of those instances this season as a Volunteer.
• Gillespie's five rebounds set a new best in SEC play and tied the season high he logged Dec. 6 versus Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
• Freshman guard Amari Evans pulled down eight rebounds to tie the career best he set Jan. 31 against Auburn.
• Evans grabbed five offensive rebounds to set a new career high, eclipsing the prior high of four—that is the only other time he had three-plus—he logged in the same game versus Auburn.
• Evans played 28:02 to set a new career best in court time, surpassing the 23:34 he played in that same affair against the Tigers.
Senior guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie totaled 26 points and a career-high-tying eight steals, matching his own program record, for No. 22 Tennessee (20-9, 10-6 SEC), which led for 36:37 and did not trail until the last 24 seconds, despite freshman forward Nate Ament missing all but 2:25 of the final 28 minutes due to a right leg injury.
The Volunteers forced four misses and four turnovers to open the night and did not allow a point until 4:29 into the contest, with Gillespie notching three steals in the first 3:22 alone.
Tennessee soon thereafter made five shots in a row on its way to claiming a 26-16 lead with 5:25 left, at which time Gillespie's steal total was at six. It held Alabama (22-7, 12-4 SEC) without a point for 5:07, forcing five straight misses and three turnovers.
The margin reached 12, 36-24, on a 3-pointer by freshman guard Amari Evans with 100 seconds left in the session and held steady at a dozen, 40-28, entering the locker room. Gillespie totaled 15 points and seven steals in the first 20 minutes, while his team had a 16-5 edge on the offensive glass and a 17-3 margin in second-chance points.
Alabama, after its lowest-scoring half of the season, opened the second frame with 12-4 run in the first 2:07 to cut its deficit to four, 44-40. The burst included a trio of 3-pointers, one of which featured an and-one made free throw.
Tennessee answered with six straight points to spark an 11-2 run that gave it a game-high 13-point cushion, 55-42 with 12:16 left. It held the Crimson Tide without a make from the floor for 5:59, forcing six consecutive mises.
Alabama used a 5-of-6 field-goal stretch, including a three-point play and a 3-pointer in just 42 seconds, to get the margin to two with 4:35 left. Tennessee then scored the next four points to make it 67-61 with 3:41 to go, but Alabama sophomore guard Labaron Philon Jr., tallied six straight points in 42 seconds to level the game—the first time since it was scoreless—at 67 with 2:32 remaining.
Redshirt sophomore J.P. Estrella put the Volunteers back in front just 26 seconds later, but Alabama pulled even at 69 with 1:11 on the timer. Philon then put Alabama in front for the first time on a jump-shot with 24 seconds to go, as the visitors made their seventh shot in nine tries. Tennessee missed at the other end and the Crimson Tide snapped a five-game series losing streak.
In addition to logging the third-best point total of his career and tying the program record for steals he set 10 days prior, Gillespie added a game-best seven assists and a co-season-high five rebounds. The Greeneville, Tenn., native, who became the first player in SEC history with eight steals in multiple league outings, also committed just one turnover in 36 minutes of action.
Estrella finished with 12 points and six rebounds, while junior forward Jaylen Carey had 10 points and a co-game-high nine rebounds. The latter mark equaled that of senior forward Felix Okpara, who added eight points and a team-best two blocks, the latter of which put him past 100 as a Volunteer, despite missing five-plus minutes due to illness.
Graduate guard Latrell Wrightsell Jr., scored 25 points to pace the Crimson Tide, finishing 8-of-12 from the field, 6-of-9 beyond the arc and 3-of-4 at the line. Philon had 23 points, including 15 in the second half and eight in the last 3:12, on a 9-of-14 clip from the floor. Junior guard Aden Holloway chipped in 12 points.
The Volunteers capped the night with a 25-9 margin on the offensive glass and a 25-10 tally in second-chance points, as well as a 40-26 edge in paint points. However, the Crimson Tide shot 10-of-27 (37.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) at the line.
Tennessee's next contest is Tuesday at 6 p.m. against South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C., live on SEC Network.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES
• Tennessee compiled their fifth regular season sellout of 2025-26, alongside the Dec. 16 outing against Louisville, the Jan. 17 game versus Kentucky, the Jan. 31 contest against Auburn and the Feb. 14 matchup with LSU.
• The 21,678 fans in the arena Saturday tied for the seventh-highest single-game attendance of the season thus far in college basketball, matching Tennessee's games versus Louisville, Kentucky, Auburn and LSU.
• Tennessee now has 29 sellouts over the last five years—five in 2025-26, eight in 2024-25, eight in 2023-24, five in 2022-23 and three in 2021-22—and possesses a 23-6 mark in those games, including an 18-4 record since Feb. 15, 2023.
• The Volunteers fell to 41-17 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 36-15 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 30-9 under head coach Rick Barnes.
• Tennessee is now 99-36 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 40-12 under Barnes, with 37 of the latter 52 over the past five years (2021-26).
• Saturday's crowd included current/former professional VFLs such as 11-year NFL veteran Ramon Foster, two-time NFL First Team All-Pro Albert Haynesworth, two-time NBA All-Star Allan Houston, five-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning, four-year NFL veteran Cade Mays, two-time NFL Pro Bowler Trey Smith, 12-year NFL veteran Luke Stocker and 2025 NFL Second Team All-Pro Darnell Wright.
• The Volunteers dropped to 7-4 in the last 11 series meetings, a period that extends back to March 4, 2017.
• Tennessee's five-game series winning streak, its third-longest ever against the Crimson Tide, came to an end Saturday.
• Five of the past seven series meetings have featured both teams ranked in the top 25—the teams split the eight prior such outings—with Tennessee posting a 3-2 record in those contests.
• Now 12 of the series' last 14 games, including 10 of the past 11, have featured a single-digit scoring margin.
• Tennessee has now held Alabama to 70.9 points per game in its 10 matchups during Nate Oats' tenure there as head coach, without allowing greater than 76 in any contest, while the Crimson Tide has averaged 85.8 points per game against all other opponents in those seven seasons (2019-26).
• Over the last nine seasons (2017-26), Tennessee now owns a 28-11 (.718) record in the second leg of regular season home-and-homes.
• Across the last five campaigns (2021-26), Tennessee has played just 24 games as a lower-ranked team and now possesses a 14-10 record, including a 4-2 mark in 2025-26.
• The Volunteers are now 40-31 (.563) in AP top-25 matchups under Barnes, including 19-11 (.613) in their last 31 such games, dating to Dec. 9, 2023.
• Tennessee fell to 48-46 (.511) versus AP top-25 teams in Barnes' tenure, including 32-19 (.627) in its past 51 such affairs, dating to Jan. 22, 2022.
• The Volunteers are now 42-38 (.525) against AP top-20 foes in the Barnes era, including to 28-15 (.651) in their last 43 such outings, since Jan. 22, 2022.
• Tennessee dropped to 24-9 (.727) versus AP top-25 teams at home under Barnes' direction, including 19-3 (.864) in its last 22 such games, since Jan. 30, 2021.
• The Volunteers are now 19-8 (.704) at home against AP top-20 foes with Barnes as head coach, including 15-3 (.833) in their last 18 such contests, also since Jan. 30, 2021.
• Tennessee has logged double-digit offensive rebounds in 28 of 29 games this year, with 15-plus in 19 outings, 17-plus 11 times and 20-plus on six occasions, with a high of 26.
• The Volunteers have grabbed at least 35 total boards in 26 of 29 contests, with 40-plus in 18, 42-plus in 17, 45-plus in 14 and 50-plus in six, with a top tally of 60.
• Through 29 outings thus far, Tennessee has amassed 13-plus assists on 25 occasions, with 17-plus in 17 games, 20-plus in seven and 23-plus in four.
• Across its 28 games this season, Tennessee has played just three (2-1) that did not feature a double-digit lead for either side.
• The Volunteers committed just six turnovers in the contest, their lowest mark of the season, and lost while holding the edge in points off turnovers for the first time in 2025-26.
• Tennessee became just the second Division I team this season to shoot 60-plus 2-pointers and single-digit free throws, alongside Lamar in a Nov. 23, 2025, contest at Montana.
• Ament missed the final 7:42 of the first half and the last 17:53 of the second half with a right leg injury, while Okpara missed the last 5:11 of the first half due to illness.
• The 28 points Alabama scored before the intermission marked its lowest in any half throughout the 2025-26 season.
• Wrightsell's four-point play with 17:53 left in the contest marked the first by a Tennessee foe since Auburn's Tahaad Pettiford posted one Jan. 31 with 13:35 remaining in the second half.
• Tennessee has now allowed an opposing duo to each score 20-plus points in back-to-back games after not doing so for 59 consecutive outings, as it last happened Nov. 22, 2024, versus Baylor in Nassau, Bahamas.
• At the 10:12 mark of the first half, Okpara logged his 100th block as a Volunteer, becoming the 20th Tennessee player all-time to reach triple digits.
• Just 21 seconds later, with 9:51 on the first-half timer, Okpara registered the 750th rebound of his four-year collegiate career.
• Gillespie is the first player in SEC history with eight steals multiple times in conference competition, achieving the feat twice in a four-game span, as he also logged eight Feb. 18 against Oklahoma.
• Gillespie is just the fourth player in SEC history with eight-plus steals multiple times, joining LSU's Shawn Griggs (three), Mississippi State's Gary Hooker and LSU's Tremont Waters.
• Gillespie is the second player in Tennessee history with seven-plus steals twice, joining Clarence Swearengen, who did so once in 1987-88 (March 11, 1988, versus Florida in Baton Rouge, La.) and once in 1988-89 (Dec. 20, 1988, versus UAB).
• Over the last 20 seasons (2006-26), Gillespie is one of just 13 Division I players to log eight-plus steals multiple times in a single campaign, including the second in a Power Six conference.
• The last Power Six player with two eight-steal outings in a single season—he is the only other to do so in the past 20 years (2006-26)—is Seton Hall's Paul Gause, who did so in 2007-08.
• Gillespie is the fifth Division I player in the last 20 seasons (2006-26) with eight-plus steals twice a season in conference action, including the only one in a Power Six league, joining Merrimack's Juvaris Hayes (2019-20), Gardner-Webb's Laquincy Rideau (2016-17), Hawaii's Roderick Bobbitt (2014-15) and Lipscomb's Josh Slater (2010-11).
• Gillespie posted 20-plus points for the 26th time in his career, including the 12th this season at Tennessee.
• Saturday marked the sixth time Gillespie has eclipsed 25 points as a collegian, with half of those instances this season as a Volunteer.
• Gillespie's five rebounds set a new best in SEC play and tied the season high he logged Dec. 6 versus Illinois in Nashville, Tenn.
• Freshman guard Amari Evans pulled down eight rebounds to tie the career best he set Jan. 31 against Auburn.
• Evans grabbed five offensive rebounds to set a new career high, eclipsing the prior high of four—that is the only other time he had three-plus—he logged in the same game versus Auburn.
• Evans played 28:02 to set a new career best in court time, surpassing the 23:34 he played in that same affair against the Tigers.
Team Stats
UA
UT
FG%
.446
.385
3FG%
.370
.222
FT%
.846
.625
RB
30
47
TO
10
6
STL
3
9
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballMBB | Rick Barnes Postgame vs. Alabama (2.28.26)
Saturday, February 28
MBB | Amari Evans & Ja'Kobi Gillespie Postgame vs. Alabama (2.28.26)
Saturday, February 28
MBB | Alabama Postgame (2.28.26)
Saturday, February 28
MBB | Highlights: Tennessee 69, Alabama 71
Saturday, February 28
