The biggest game in Thompson-Boling Arena history? An NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed to the winner? ESPN’s broadcast crew — which, gloriously, included Dick Vitale after another win over cancer — may have overhyped and oversimplified a bit.
Still, it was major, a 79-76 win for No. 5 Tennessee over No. 6 Alabama on Saturday on the Vols’ home court. And the greatness of the game and the finish were beyond exaggeration. Tennessee senior guard Jahmai Mashack nailed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer to deliver victory and set off a wild celebration.
“I mean that was 35 feet, man!” Vitale said of the shot in the chaotic seconds after it fell through the net.
“I don’t do that, that’s not my game!” Mashack told ESPN on the court while surrounded by teammates, and he’s right — that was his only 3-point attempt of the game and just his 15th make of the season.
But he did it to help the Vols (24-5, 11-5 SEC) add a headlining achievement to their NCAA profile with just three games left in the regular season. The Athletic’s Bracket Watch that published on Tuesday had Auburn, Duke, Florida and Alabama as the top seeds — with Auburn a lock to stay there and Duke close to it — and No. 2 seeds Tennessee and Houston as the challengers with the most opportunity for upward mobility.
Rick Barnes’ Tennessee Volunteers improved to 11-5 in the SEC with their win over Alabama. (Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
Since that snapshot, Florida suffered an upset loss to Georgia, and Houston kept rolling with two wins, including a huge one at Texas Tech. Now Tennessee has staked a claim to the first No. 1 seed in program history with a stirring comeback, charging back from a nine-point deficit in the final 10 minutes.
Mashack, perhaps the best on-ball defender in men’s college basketball, did much more than just hit the last shot. He got in position for an offensive rebound on a free-throw miss from teammate Chaz Lanier and was fouled with 30 seconds left and Tennessee down 76-74. Mashack drilled both free throws.
Then he made the key defensive play on Alabama’s attempt to win, giving the Vols the final opportunity.
“We know what we’re built for, we know who we are,” Mashack told ESPN of the Vols’ resilience. “This is what we’ve done every single day. Don’t question what it is, I don’t care if we’re down 20, I don’t care if we’re up 20, you stick to the program.”
The program may soon have its first No. 1 seed. But Alabama (23-6, 12-4) definitely shouldn’t be counted out to end up on the top line, especially considering the Crimson Tide finish the regular season against Florida and at Auburn, then head to the SEC Tournament in Nashville. Alabama got 24 points from Mark Sears and had excellent defensive stretches but couldn’t finish.
JAHMAI MASHACK IS A HOOPER pic.twitter.com/LgwcqyBiz2
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 1, 2025
Auburn clinches SEC title
Here’s what is over: the SEC regular-season race. In yet another indication of the historic quality of this league, we’re talking about Tennessee, Alabama and Florida fighting for a No. 1 seed, yet none of them are in the conference race with a week to go. Auburn’s blowout win at Kentucky and Alabama’s loss clinched the outright title for Bruce Pearl’s Tigers.
Required reading
(Top photo of Jahmai Mashack: Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
