#5 Vols Come Back to Upend #6 Alabama, 79-76, on Mashack’s Buzzer-Beater
Courtesy / UT Athletics

#5 Vols Come Back to Upend #6 Alabama, 79-76, on Mashack’s Buzzer-Beater

March 2, 2025

Game Recap: Men’s Basketball | March 01, 2025

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Facing a nine-point deficit with under 10 minutes left and a four-point deficit in the final 31 seconds, the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team rallied to defeat sixth-ranked Alabama, 79-76, Saturday evening on a 35-footer at the horn by senior guard Jahmai Mashack.

Fifth-ranked Tennessee (24-5, 11-5 SEC) outscored the Crimson Tide by 13 in the last 10 minutes to win the first AP top-six clash on its home court in program history and the first AP top-six matchup ever between the two sides.

Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier, who started the 7-0 run in the final 30.3 seconds, and senior guard Jordan Gainey had 18 points apiece to co-lead a quartet of double-digit scorers for the victors in front of the second-largest crowd (22,392) to watch a game at Food City Center at its current configuration.

The triumph moved head coach Rick Barnes into the top 10 on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years at Division I level) with his 830th victory. He also improved to 5-0 in AP top-10 home showdowns as the Tennessee head coach, as well as to 9-1 versus top-10 teams at home (with eight straight wins) and to 8-0 at home against AP top-six opponents.

The two sides went back and forth in the opening 15-plus minutes, with the Volunteers taking a 33-29 edge at the 4:47 mark on fifth-year guard Darlinstone Dubar’s second 3-pointer of the half. Alabama (23-6, 12-4 SEC) then countered with a 10-0 burst in 2:21 to go in front by six with 2:04 left in the session.

The Crimson Tide stretched the lead to seven with seven ticks to go, but Gainey countered with a three-point play, snapping a skid of eight straight missed field goals, in the final second to make it 42-38 at the intermission. Tennessee committed 12 fouls—10 came in the first 10:23—in the opening 20 minutes, with five players picking up two apiece.

Each team made four first-half 3-pointers, but Alabama needed just 10 attempts to Tennessee’s 14. Both also connected on eight free throws, with Tennessee doing it on 10 tries to Alabama’s 15.

Senior forward Igor Miličic Jr., opened the second-half scoring with a 3-pointer to trim the margin to one, but the Crimson Tide responded with an 8-2 run in 92 seconds to go back up by seven, 50-43, with 16:05 to go. They pushed it up to a game-best nine, 62-53, with 10:15 left, but the Volunteers countered with a 13-4 burst in 3:10, bookended by 3-pointers from senior guard Zakai Zeigler, to level the score at 66 with 6:49 to play.

Gainey gave Tennessee its first lead of the second half, 70-68, on a pair of free throws with 4:06 on the clock. Alabama scored the next five points, regaining the advantage, 73-70, with 2:05 left on a 3-pointer by graduate guard Mark Sears after the team missed 11 of its prior 12 field goals.

The Crimson Tide extended their advantage to four, 76-72, with 36.1 seconds left, but Tennessee dominated the rest of the contest. Lanier hit a runner just 5.8 seconds later and got fouled to go to the line. Although he missed the shot, Mashack drew a foul on the rebound and hit two free throws to level the score at 76 with 30.3 seconds remaining.

At the other end, Mashack forced a jump ball with 3.8 seconds to go and then the Volunteers drew a five-second violation on the inbound to get possession back. Zeigler then inbounded to Mashack, who dribbled up the floor, stopped and took a shot from about midway between the 3-point line and midcourt, shooting it over the outstretched arm of 6-foot-11 fifth-year center Clifford Omoruyi. He released it with 0.3 seconds to go, then watched it sail through the air and through the net, after which he was mobbed by his teammates in jubilation. It marked Tennessee’s first home buzzer-beater this century.

Lanier scored 12 of his 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first 13 minutes, and Gainey split his 18 evenly between the frames. Zeigler scored 15 points, 13 of which came in a second half during which he was 4-of-8 from the floor and hit both his 3-pointers, as well as co-led all players with four assists.

Mashack tied a season high with 11 points, adding six rebounds, a team-best three steals and a co-game-high two blocks, the latter mark tying a career best. Junior forward Felix Okpara paced the team with nine rebounds and matched Mashack in the blocks category.

Sears paced all scorers with 24 points and co-led the game with four assists. Freshman guard Labaron Philon scored 13 points and he, too, posted four assists, plus notched a game-best five steals. Sophomore guard Aden Holloway had 11 points, while graduate forward Grant Nelson pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, with Tennessee holding him to just seven points on 2-of-8 field-goal shooting.

Tennessee, which scored three points in the final second of each half, finished with better percentages in all three areas than Alabama, which has the third-rated offense in the nation by KenPom. The Volunteers shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the field, 38.1 percent (8-of-21) beyond the arc and 73.1 percent (19-of-26) at the line. The Crimson Tide registered respective clips of 41.7 percent (25-of-60), 37.5 percent (9-of-24) and 65.4 percent (17-of-26).
In addition, the Volunteers limited Alabama to just three made field goals on final last 15 attempts of the contest.

Tennessee concludes its road slate Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET in Oxford, Miss., where it squares off with Ole Miss, live on ESPN2 from The Sandy and John Black Pavilion.

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
• Barnes increased his career win total to 830, tying John Calipari and Jim Phelan for the No. 10 spot on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years in Division I).
• Barnes and Calipari are also now once again tied for the most victories of any active coach at the Division I level.
• With his 111th SEC victory, Barnes passed Don DeVoe for sole possession of the No. 19 spot on the all-time SEC-only wins list.
• Saturday’s announced attendance of 22,392—good for 714 over capacity—marked the fifth-largest sellout crowd in arena history, including the second-largest since the 2007-08 capacity reduction.
• Since reducing the capacity to 21,678 in 2007-08, the only game with a larger attendance at Food City Center was a 92-84 victory over Auburn on Feb. 28, 2024.
• The crowd of 22,392 also marked the second-largest single-game attendance at any venue in Division I basketball this season, giving Tennessee two of the top four figures.
• The Volunteers, who notched their 20th sellout in the last three years (2022-25) and seventh of 2024-25, are now 37-15 all-time in Food City Center sellouts, including 36-13 since the 2007-08 capacity reduction and 26-7 in head coach Rick Barnes‘ 10-year tenure.
• The seven sellouts in 2024-25 are only one shy of the arena record of eight, set just one year ago, in 2023-24.
• Tennessee improved to 95-34 all-time when playing in front of 20,000-plus fans at Food City Center, including 36-10 under Barnes, with 31 of the latter 46 over the past four seasons (2021-25).
• The Volunteers are now 19-8 all-time in over-capacity crowds at Food City Center, including 18-6 at the current listed capacity.
• Saturday’s crowd marked the 11th time in 2024-25, all in the Volunteers’ past 12 outings, over 19,000 fans have been in attendance at Food City Center.
• Saturday marked the first time ever Tennessee and Alabama met with both ranked in the top six of the AP Poll.
• Tennessee improved to 7-4 in its last 11 games against Alabama—that dates to March 4, 2017—and has won four games in a row over the Crimson Tide.
• Ten of the last 12 games in the series, including eight of the past nine, have been determined by single digits.
• Tennessee has now played five AP top-eight matchups in SEC action this season after having just six previously in program history.
• Saturday marked the first AP top-six showdown ever on Tennessee’s home floor, regardless of the venue.
• The Volunteers have now been part of six AP top-six clashes in program history, including five in the last seven years Barnes and two this season alone.
• Tennessee is now 8-1 (.889) all-time at home in AP top-10 meetings, including owning a perfect 5-0 (1.000) mark at Food City Center (all under Barnes) to go along with its 4-1 record at Stokely Athletics Center.
• The Volunteers won an AP top-six matchup for the second time ever, joining a 66-62 triumph at top-ranked Memphis on Feb. 23, 2008, while they were ranked second.
• This is the second consecutive Saturday the Volunteers won an AP top-seven clash—they claimed a 77-69 victory Feb. 22 at seventh-ranked Texas A&M—and they improved to 5-6 all-time in such games, including 4-6 under Barnes.
• With its eighth AP top-25 win of the season, Tennessee broke the program record of seven it set in 2021-22 and tied in 2023-24.
• The Volunteers now possess six AP top-15 victories in 2024-25, matching the 2021-22 season for their most in a single campaign.
• Tennessee now has three AP top-10 triumphs in 2024-25, its seventh time reaching that number in a single season—it has twice won four such games—including the fourth in the Barnes era.
• This is the fifth time the Volunteers have defeated at least three AP top-seven foes in a single season—it has twice posted four such victories—including the third in Barnes’ tenure.
• Tennessee improved to 36-26 (.581) in AP top-25 showdowns under Barnes, including 20-5 (.800) on its home floor and 8-4 (.667) in 2024-25.
• The above overall record features a 24-13 (.649) count since Feb. 26, 2022, and a 15-6 (.714) mark since Dec. 9, 2023.
• The Volunteers are now 10-8 (.556) in AP top-10 matchups during Barnes’ 10-year tenure as head coach, including a perfect 5-0 (1.000) at Food City Center (the arena hosted no such games before his arrival).
• Tennessee upped its mark to 23-8 (.742) at home versus AP top-25 teams in the Barnes era, including 18-2 (.900) since Jan. 30, 2021.
• Barnes-led Volunteer teams now possess a 9-1 (.900) record at home against AP top-10 squads, including a perfect 8-0 (1.000) tally since March 2, 2019, and an unblemished 7-0 (1.000) record versus SEC squads.
• Tennessee increased its record to 42-41 (.506) versus AP top-25 opponents in the Barnes are, including going to 26-14 (.650) since Jan. 22, 2022.
• The Volunteers improved to 16-15 (.516) against AP top-10 foes under Barnes, including 13-9 (.608) since March 2, 2019, and 11-6 (.647) since Dec. 22, 2021.
• Barnes has now led Tennessee to a perfect 8-0 (1.000) record at home against AP top-six opponents during his 10-year tenure on Rocky Top.
• Across its last 30 contests versus AP top-15 teams—that dates to Dec. 22, 2021—the Volunteers are now 21-9 (.700).
• The Volunteers reached 11 SEC wins for the fourth consecutive season, the third such instance in program history, joining a four-year streak from 1978-79 to 1982-83 and a seven-year count from 1970-71 to 1976-77.
• Tennessee has two-dozen regular season wins for the fifth time ever, including the third under Barnes, as it went 28-3 in 2007-08, 27-4 in 2018-19, 24-7 in 2023-24 and 24-5 in 1999-2000.
• With Dick Vitale on the call at Food City Center for the first time since a Jan. 28, 2023, win over Texas, the Tennessee players and coaches donated $10,000 to the Jimmy V Foundation in his honor and head coach Rick Barnes presented him the check pregame.
• Zeigler committed his second foul with 16:23 on the first-half clock and played just 9:56 in the opening frame, while sophomore forward Cade Phillips committed his second foul at the 12:48 mark, Dubar did so at the 11:06 mark, Miličic did so with 6:47 to go in the frame and Lanier committed his second with 46.2 ticks left in the session.
• Alabama entered the bonus with 12:43 left in the first half and then reached the double-bonus with 9:37 on the timer.
• At the other end of the floor, the Volunteers entered the first-half bonus with 9:28 left in the session and reached the double-bonus in the final second.
• In addition to its 10-0 run in 2:21, Alabama also had a 7-0 burst in 40 seconds and a 7-2 spurt in 49 seconds during the first half.
• The 42 first-half points by Alabama marked the second-highest total before the intermission by a Tennessee foe this season and just the fourth time a team had greater than 35 points in the opening stanza.
• Alabama’s 76 points marked its third-lowest total of the second, including its second-lowest in SEC play (64 at Ole Miss on Jan. 14) and second-lowest in a win (72 versus McNeese State on Nov. 11, 2024).
• The Volunteers have now won two games at the buzzer this season—Gainey hit a layup with no time left Dec. 14, 2024, for a 66-64 win at Illinois—after not doing so even once since Nov. 30, 2019, against VCU in Niceville, Fla.
• All of Tennessee’s prior buzzer-beating wins—victories on shots with 0:00 on the clock—this century came away from home, making this the first one on its home floor in that time.
• Zeigler’s third assist of the contest, with 7:11 left in the first half, gave him 200 on the season, marking the fifth 200-assist campaign in program history, including his second, and he finished the game with 201 on the year.
• The 15 points for Zeigler upped his career count to 1,435, jumping him from No. 22 into the top 20 on the school’s all-time scoring list, as he eclipsed C.J. Watson (1,424 from 2002-06) and Ron Widby (1,432 from 1964-67).
• Zeigler has now scored 15-plus points in 10 of his last 13 appearances, including each of the past seven.
• Lanier’s two 3-point makes increased his total this year to 99, moving him into a tie with Allan Houston (1990-91) for fifth place on Tennessee’s single-season leaderboard.
• Mashack made his 128th appearance as a Volunteer, entering the top 15 on the program’s all-time leaderboard by matching Armani Moore (2012-16), Chris Lofton (2004-08) and Allan Houston (1989-93) for the No. 13 spot.
• The previous game this season in which Mashack, who reached double digits for the 14th time in his career and the fifth in 2024-25, had 11 points was a Jan. 15 home victory over Georgia.
• Okpara led Tennessee in minutes for the first time, earning 35:20 of floor time to put him just 17 seconds shy of his top mark of the year, 35:27 in a Jan. 25 outing at Auburn.

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