Tennessee’s Jahmai Mashack delivers chilling message after game-winning buzzer beater
The Tennessee Volunteers have been one of the toughest teams in college basketball this season. Under head coach Rick Barnes, the program is built on physicality, toughness, and defense. With Alabama coming into town, Barnes and his staff knew it would take everything Tennessee had to come away with the win.
The first half of the game was slow for both teams, as the refs consistently called fouls. This disrupted the flow of the game and prevented any real momentum from building. It was reminiscent of when the Vols traveled to Illinois earlier in the season.
The second half, however, was different. The refs allowed the teams to play more freely, but Alabama seemed to be the only team hitting shots. With 30 seconds left in the game, the Crimson Tide held a 4-point lead. Tennessee transfer senior Chaz Lanier managed to convert a shot at the rim while being fouled, cutting the lead to 2 points. Lanier missed the free throw, but the ref blew the whistle, calling a foul on Alabama and giving Jahmai Mashack a one-and-one opportunity at the charity stripe.
Mashack sank both free throws, tying the game at 76. Tennessee’s defense then forced a turnover. With 3.8 seconds left, Mashack raced down the court and heaved a shot from the Summitt logo. The ball went in, sending the Food City Center into a frenzy.
After the game, Mashack delivered a message that will send chills down your spine.
“We know what we’re built for, we know who we are,” Mashack said. “I don’t care if we’re down 20, I don’t care if we’re up 20. You stick to the program.”
The senior may not be the first or second option when Lanier and Zakai Ziegler are on the court, but he lifted his team over the Crimson Tide, giving them a strong chance at securing the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
What Went Wrong in Final Minute of Alabama’s Loss to Tennessee
Nate Oats has not had a lot of success against Tennessee. The Volunteers are the only SEC team during his tenure at Alabama that he has a losing record against, but it looked like Oats and Alabama were going to flip the script in Knoxville on Saturday against Tennessee.
The No. 6 Crimson Tide led by as many as nine points in the second half and held a four-point lead with 30 seconds to go before No. 5 Tennessee won on Jahmai Mashack’s buzzer beater, 79-76.
“I was not good for the last 30 seconds,” Oats said after the game. “Feel like I failed these guys. For 39-and-a-half minutes, they out-played them, they were up four.”
How exactly did it go from Alabama pulling out a gritty road win to blowing the lead and losing on a buzzer beater? Need to rewind the clock to a little earlier in the half.
Alabama held a lead for almost the entire second half, but then went on a long field-goal drought that lasted almost six minutes of game time as the Volunteers continued cutting into the deficit and getting the crowd back into the game. Tennessee took its first lead of the half with 4:06 to go on free throws from Jordan Gainey to go up 70-68.
Grant Nelson tied the game for Alabama on free throws, and then Mark Sears ended the drought with a 3-pointer that put the Tide up 73-70 with 2:05 left. Alabama’s lead was up to four points with 36 seconds left at 76-72 after a free throw from Labaron Philon, seemingly giving the Crimson Tide a two-score lead.
This is when trouble began to arise for the Tide. Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier made a layup on the other end and was fouled by Nelson, cutting the score to 76-74 with a free throw still to come and 30 seconds on the clock.
After the foul but before the free throw attempt, Oats subbed in Chris Youngblood and Mark Sears for Mouhamed Dioubate and Clifford Omoruyi to give Alabama more offensive prowess.
