How to Watch: No. 6 Alabama Basketball vs Tennessee at the SEC Tournament
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After taking care of business with relative ease 85-48 on Friday against Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, Alabama basketball will have a much more difficult challenge on its hands on Saturday.
The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Florida Gators 78-66 on Friday afternoon, moving forward to play Alabama in the SEC Tournament semifinals. While the Crimson Tide is the No. 1 seed in the tournament thanks to its first regular-season SEC title since 2002, the Volunteers are no slouch coming in as the tournaments No. 4 seed.
The Crimson Tide is coming off what is possibly its most impressive all-around performance of the season. Against the Bulldogs, Alabama shot 48-percent from the floor and was 13-for-36 from beyond the arc. The turnover disparity was heavily tilted in the Crimson Tide's favor, with Alabama turning the ball over just nine times compared to Mississippi State's 18.
Alabama was able to turn those 18 turnovers in 30 points — a key factor that made a big difference in the game.
The game wasn't completely without loss, though. In the second half, freshman guard Josh Primo went down with an apparent injury and was immediately assisted to the locker room for evaluation. After the game, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said that they were going to have Primo undergo an MRI and that his availability for tomorrow is questionable.
Tennessee is also coming into Saturday's game with an injury. Fulkerson was struck twice in the face by the elbow of Gators player Omar Payne, resulting in Fulkerson having to leave the game due to the injury and the ejection of Payne.
After the game, Volunteers coach Rick Barnes said that Fulkerson is unlikely to play on Saturday.
Aside from the injury, Tennessee performed well against Florida. The Volunteers totaled five double-digit shooters, led by sophomore guard Santiago Vescovi with 14 points. On the night, Tennessee shot 47-percent from the floor and was 9-for-25 from beyond the arc.
Here is everything you need to know about No. 6 Alabama basketball's SEC Tournament semifinal matchup against Tennessee:
No. 6 Alabama vs Tennessee
Where: Bridgestone Arena
When: Noon CT, Saturday
TV: ESPN
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network
Online: ESPN.com
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide used solid play on both sides of the basketball to beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs 85-48 in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Sophomore guard Jahvon Quinerly led the team with 14 points while senior wing rebounded the ball seven times. Alabama shot 48-percent from the floor and sank 13 threes on its way to the largest SEC Tournament victory in Crimson Tide program history.
Last time out, Tennessee: The Volunteers had five double-digit shooters on Friday — including 14 points from sophomore guard Santiago Vescovi — in its 78-66 defeat of the Florida Gators. 34 points in the paint as well as nine three-pointers were too much for the Gators to handle as Tennessee easily moved on to the semifinals.
The series: Tennessee and Alabama will meet for the 151st time, with the Crimson Tide leading the all-time series, 80-70. The 150 all-time games played between the teams ranks as the sixth-most times UA has played any one opponent, while the 80 victories also rank sixth-most in program lore.
More on the last meeting: Alabama defeated Tennessee inside Thompson-Boling Arena 71-63 back on Jan. 2. Senior guard John Petty Jr. led the way for the Crimson Tide in points with 17, while senior wing Herb Jones took the team lead in rebounds with eight. The win in Knoxville was the first victory for the Crimson Tide at the Volunteers' arena since 2015.
