Tennessee Volunteers (22-6) vs. Alabama Crimson Tide (20-8)
March 2, 2024 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Alabama Crimson Tide -2.5; Over/Under: +170
(Get latest betting odds)
The Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide meet in college basketball action from the Coleman Coliseum on Saturday. Who comes out on top in this battle of SEC titans? Let’s dive in and find out with our Tennessee vs. Alabama Prediction.
Tennessee Team Preview
The Tennessee Volunteers come into this game looking to build on their current five-game win streak after a 92-84 win over Auburn last time out. Dalton Knecht leads the Volunteers in scoring with 20.8 PPG and 4.9 RPG while Jonas Aidoo has 12.1 PPG with a team-high 7.6 RPG to lead the Vols on the glass up to this point in the year. Zakai Zeigler has 11.1 PPG with a team-high 5.9 APG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for Tennessee as the Vols’ leading assist man. Josiah-Jordan James also has 8.8 PPG and 6 RPG as well this season. As a team, Tennessee is averaging 80.7 PPG on 45.8% shooting from the field, 34.9% from three and 74.7% from the foul line this season.
Alabama Team Preview
The Alabama Crimson Tide come into this game looking to build on a 103-88 win over Ole Miss last time out. Mark Sears leads the Tide in scoring with 20.6 PPG and 4.1 APG along with 4.3 RPG and Aaron Estrada has 13.3 PPG with 5.3 RPG and a team-high 4.5 APG as well on the year. Grant Nelson has 12.3 PPG with a team-high 5.6 RPG to lead the Tide on the glass and Rylan Griffen has 11.6 PPG with 3.6 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Alabama up to this point in the year. As a team, Alabama is averaging 91.5 PPG on 48.4% shooting from the field, 38.1% shooting from the field and 79.1% from the foul line this season.
Tennessee vs. Alabama Prediction
I’m on Alabama here. I get why points with Tennessee are tempting as the Vols are one of the best defensive units in the country, but they’ve also had a relatively weak schedule over this five-game win streak outside of Auburn and that game was at home. The Vols over the years have been known as a team that can have a hard time carrying their play out onto the road and I think that could prove to be the case here. Alabama is a tough place to go on the road and compete let alone win, and I think the Crimson Tide with that dynamic offense, have enough here to get the win and cover at home so give me the Crimson Tide in this one.
