Nate Oats took full responsibility for Alabama’s heartbreaking 79-76 loss to Tennessee, admitting he mismanaged the final 30 seconds. The No. 6 Crimson Tide appeared poised for victory before No. 5 Tennessee stunned them with a buzzer-beating three-pointer on Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
“I let these guys down,” Oats said. “I wasn’t good in the last 30 seconds today.”
Alabama led 76-72 with just 36 seconds remaining, seemingly in control. Then, everything fell apart.
Costly Mistakes in the Final Moments
Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier drove in for a layup and was fouled by Grant Nelson, giving him a chance at a three-point play. Before the free throw, Oats substituted out two of Alabama’s top rebounders, Mo Dioubate and Cliff Omoruyi, for Mark Sears and Chris Youngblood.
When Lanier missed the free throw, Jarin Stevenson committed a foul on the rebound, allowing Jahmai Mashack to sink two free throws and tie the game at 76 with 30 seconds left.
“I should have left our best rebounders in to secure the board before focusing on offense,” Oats admitted. “We fouled on the rebound, they made both shots, and we have to be better at closing out games.”
Final Possession Breakdown
Alabama still had one last opportunity, but Tennessee’s defense smothered them. With two seconds left on the shot clock, the Crimson Tide needed to inbound the ball, but Labaron Philon was called for a five-second violation, handing possession back to Tennessee.
Oats acknowledged he could have prevented the costly turnover.
“I should have called a timeout,” he said. “Coaches can do that on an underneath out-of-bounds play, and I hesitated. That’s on me.”
Defensive Misstep Seals Alabama’s Fate
With 3.8 seconds left, Oats subbed Omoruyi and Dioubate back in while taking Sears and Youngblood out. He later questioned whether Alabama should have gone with a smaller lineup to prevent Tennessee from advancing the ball so easily.
“We probably could have had a different group in there,” Oats reflected. “We needed to slow them down, but we didn’t.”
Tennessee capitalized, as Mashack raced down the court and drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to steal the win.
For Oats, the painful loss was a lesson in late-game execution
—one he took full ownership of.
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