Alabama vs. Tennessee College Basketball prediction, preview
Tennessee won as a road underdog in Tuscaloosa last month, and now Alabama will look to go on the road and play spoiler to get some revenge. That said, this is not a favorable matchup for the Crimson Tide. Bama got embarrassed at Florida back on February 1st, and has been playing very good basketball since. The Tide head to Knoxville on a seven-game winning streak, but taking down the Vols is going to be a tough task.
Tennessee just took a road loss at Missouri on Tuesday, so the Vols come in looking for a bounce-back of their own. The danger in fading Alabama is really the same in any game or matchup — the Tide take so many attempts from downtown that if they get hot they can beat anybody. I’m willing to bet that won’t happen against Tennessee for a couple of reasons.
The Vols ranks 22nd in the nation defending the three-point line, which we saw play a massive role in the matchup in January. The Tide shot just 6-of-26 (23%) from beyond the arc at home. Tennessee is also the much better team on the defensive side of the ball, ranking 14th in defensive efficiency on KenPom, versus just 66th for Alabama. We saw the impact defense had when these teams played in Tuscaloosa, as the Vols held the nation’s highest scoring team (92.9 PPG) to just 73 on their home floor. Finally, the Vols have a lot more size than Bama, which plays a big role inb the rebounding margin — Tennessee out-rebounded Alabama by nine the last time they played.
Spin it all together, and I feel the Vols are just a brutal matchup for the Crimson Tide. Back at home off a road loss on Tuesday, I believe Tennessee will knock off Alabama with margin for the second time this season.
