Without two critical starters — Josiah-Jordan James and Julian Phillips — Tennessee’s defense suffocated Alabama’s offense into 19 turnovers, turned those into 26 points and beat the No. 1 ranked Tide, 68-58.
Even without James and Phillips, the Volunteer offense came out swinging against Alabama, as Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Ziegler both hit 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game.
A possession before the under-16 media break, Olivier Nkamhoua had an opportunity for an and-1 play when he finished through contact at the rim, but he missed the free throw. Tennessee led 8-7 at the 15:21 mark.