A top-10 showdown takes place on Wednesday night when the No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide hit the road to face the No. 10 Tennessee Volunteers inside Thompson Boling Arena (7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Alabama (22-3, 12-0) returned to the top spot in the AP rankings following four straight victories by an average margin of 23.25 points after its most recent loss to Oklahoma on Jan. 28.
Tennessee (19-6, 8-4) stumbles into Wednesday night's showdown having lost its past two games to Vanderbilt (66-65) and Missouri (86-85) by one point at the buzzer. In both losses, guard Santiago Vescovi had a chance to put the game on ice but missed a combined three free throws to give their opposition one last chance to win the game.
Despite back-to-back heartbreakers, the Volunteers currently sit as short two-point home favorites, which might be surprising to some on the surface. Still, the fact Tennessee was a free throw away from winning both games shows it ultimately should have won two games it ended up losing. While moral victories aren't what Rick Barnes' bunch is after, losing in that fashion is better than being completely outmatched by your opponent. Not many teams in college basketball can match the Volunteers' athleticism and physicality, and there also aren't many teams who would be priced as a favorite over Tennessee on a neutral floor.
However, Alabama is one of those teams, and Wednesday will be the Volunteers' toughest test of the season. Alabama enters Wednesday night following a gritty 77-69 road win over Auburn, a game in which the Crimson Tide dominated from two-point range, connecting on 23-of-28 (82 percent) attempts.
Can the Volunteers end their two-game skid by taking down the No.1 team in the country, or can Nate Oats' squad add another solid road win to their resume? Below, we'll break down Wednesday night's top-10 showdown while providing our predictions and best bet.
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Alabama odds, picks, predictions
- Spread: Tennessee -2 (-110); Alabama +2 (-110)
- Over/Under: 143.5
- Moneyline: Tennessee -135; Alabama +115
Seeing Tennessee listed as the favorite shouldn't be too surprising, as it's still KenPom's No. 5 team and always garners respect in the betting market, especially at home. The Volunteers also sit atop KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency metric, allowing just 86.6 points per 100 possessions.
We'll see if they can hold an Alabama offense that scores 117.4 points per 100 possessions (13th in D-1) and sports the third-lowest average possessions length (15.1 seconds) in check for 40 minutes. Alabama's scoring an average of 88.5 points per game over their four-game winning streak, and with Tennessee's having some issues of late, Tennessee likely can't afford to play in a high possession track meet.
There are some injury concerns with Tennessee, though. Starters Josiah Jordan-James (ankle) and Julian Phillips (hip) are labeled as "game-time decisions" and could miss Wednesday's contest after suffering injuries last week. If both can't go, Tennessee's chances of adding a resume-boosting win get slimmer.
Even if Jordan-James and Phillips don't suit up, Tennessee's sound enough on the defensive end to muck up the game. The question becomes whether guards Zakai Zeigler (10.8 ppg, 37.2 FG%) and Vescovi (12.2 ppg, 38.8 FG%) can carry the load offensively. The two did their part on Saturday, combining for 27 points, and had Zeigler not picked up an unnecessary fifth foul in the latter stages of the game, it's likely the Vols would've walked away with the "W."
While we're incredibly high on the Crimson Tide, Wednesday night's road test is their toughest remaining regular season game. We're not expecting the Crimson Tide to shoot 80-plus percent from two-point range against a solid Volunteer interior defense. Ultimately, we think Tennessee's ability to match the Crimson Tide on the glass while doing their best to run them off the three-point line results in an "upset" win for the favored Volunteers.
