Tennessee Blows Double-Digit Lead, Loses to Alabama

0:00On March 1st, Tennessee men's basketball dropped a tough 71-69 loss to Alabama, marking the fifth time this season they've blown a double digit. Led, the Vols held a 40-28 half-time advantage, but couldn't hold on as the Crimson Tide grabbed their first and only lead with just 22 seconds left. The team did a lot right, grabbing 17 more rebounds overall, and turning those into 25-second chance points, despite 25 tries. They also had a season-low six turnovers and got scoring from several players beyond their usual stars. Coach Rick Barnes pointed out the real issue isn't just the blown leads, but failing to sustain effort for a full 40 minutes. Players like Jacobi Gillespie echoed that, saying they relax when ahead and need to keep the intensity up. Leading score Nate Aiment left early with an injury after 11 minutes of play which hurt their free throw attempts. They only got to the line eight. Times, their lowest this season, Alabama heated up in the second half, shooting over 50%

1:03and getting double digit points from three players. This loss highlights Tennessee's second half struggles, especially in SEC play, with a squandered big leads multiple times lately. They'll need to fix that full-game focus to turn things around.