It’s not The Third Saturday in October, but early March is a good time for the rivalry between Alabama and Tennessee to heat back up on the basketball court. Much like on the football field, Saturday’s matchup in Knoxville has very high stakes.
Both the Crimson Tide and the Volunteers are competing for a top-four seed and a double-bye in the SEC Tournament, and with three games left in the regular season are looking to lock up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when Selection Sunday finally comes around.
Alabama specifically has a lot to prove down the stretch of the regular season with the toughest remaining schedule in the country. Nate Oats’s Crimson Tide will face No. 5 Tennessee in Knoxville, then No. 3 Florida at home in Tuscaloosa before closing out the year with the No. 1 team in the country, Auburn. Losses to Auburn and Missouri temporarily dislodged Alabama from the one-seed conversation, but a 2-1 finish to the regular season will have the Tide right back in the mix.
Tennesse has a bit smoother sailing, with Ole Miss and South Carolina to finish the SEC slate, but the Vols still need a big-time win on Saturday afternoon. Here’s how you can watch this big-time SEC showdown on ESPN.
How to watch No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 5 Tennessee
- Date: Saturday, March 1
- Time: 4:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
- How to Watch (TV): ESPN
- Streaming: fubo TV
- Alabama record: 23-5 (12-3)
- Tennessee record: 23-5 (10-5)
Alabama vs. Tennessee odds, spread and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Moneyline
- Alabama +140
- Tennessee -170
Spread
- Alabama +3.5 (-108)
- Tennessee -3.5 (-112)
Total
- 155.5 (over -110/under -110)
Alabama injury report
- Derrion Reid, F: Questionable (undisclosed)
- Houston Mallette, G: Questionable (knee)
- Latrell Wrightsell Jr. G: OUT (Achilles)
Tennessee injury report
- J.P. Estrella, F: OUT (foot)
Tennessee and Alabama series history
- Tennessee all-time record vs. Alabama: 73-82
Alabama vs. Tennessee prediction
Alabama plays at a fast pace with a free-flowing offensive style. Since transfer wing Chris Youngblood recovered from an injury and joined the team in mid-December, the Crimson Tide have been one of the better shooting teams in the country. Youngblood had a season-high 27 points in Tuesday night’s 111-73 win over Mississippi State, and in Alabama’s last 10 games, the Tide have posted a 60.4% effective field goal percentile which is 100th percentile in the country (according to CBBanalytics.com.
With Mark Sears leading the way, Youngblood spacing the floor, and sophomore Aden Holloway adding secondary playmaking off the bench, Alabama is one of the most potent offensive teams in the country. That’s without even mentioning Grant Nelson who averages 12 points and eight rebounds a game. Yet, Tennessee might have the antidote.
The under is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings between these two teams and a big reason is the Vols ability to run teams off the three-point line. Opponents are shooting 27.6% from three against Rick Barnes’s group this season and that feeds into Tennessee’s fantastic 95.4 defensive rating.
The Vols will need a big game from leading scorer Chaz Lanier to match Alabama’s offense, but Barnes will have his team slow the game down and force Alabama to play in the half-court. There’s no way Tennessee can win a track meet. Alabama gets good looks in those situations and is shooting nearly 50% from the field in half-court sets, so the Tide won’t be out of this game, even if it’s played on Tennessee’s terms. That makes it tough to pick a side in this matchup. Instead, I’ll predict a lower-scoring affair in Knoxville.