No. 1 Alabama Ready for SEC Showdown with No. 10 Tennessee on Rocky Top

The Crimson Tide and Volunteers meet in the conference’s biggest matchup of the season on Wednesday night in Knoxville.

For just the second time in program history, the Alabama Crimson Tide is ranked No. 1 in the country — in basketball.

The Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 SEC) defeated Florida at home on Wednesday before heading to “The Plains” and taking down its arch rival, Auburn, on Saturday.

Now, Alabama has yet another road test against a rival. The Crimson Tide has No. 10 Tennessee in Knoxville next on the calendar.

“We’ve had this game circled for a while,” Alabama forward Noah Gurley said. “We knew that this would be a big one. We only get them once. […] We need this game. Our goal is to win the SEC championship.”

Just two weeks ago, the Volunteers (19-6, 8-4 SEC) were ranked second in the country. But since defeating No. 6 Texas in the SEC / Big 12 Challenge, Tennessee has lost three of its last four contests. The Volunteers lost to Florida by 13 points in Gainesville on Feb. 1 before falling last week to both Vanderbilt and Missouri. Tennessee lost both of its games last week on shots at the final buzzer.

Needless to say, the Volunteers will be ready to play when top-ranked Alabama comes to town on Wednesday night.

“This has been a matchup that everyone’s been looking forward to for a while now,” head coach Nate Oats said. “They’ve got a really talented group. […] They're also coming off two back-to-back losses on buzzer beaters. They’ve had luck go against them. I'm sure they’re fired up and ready to get a win. We’re probably hitting them at the worst time. […] We’ve got our hands full.”

Even after falling to third in the SEC, Tennessee is still very highly thought of by the metrics. The Volunteers are No. 5 in KenPom and third in NET.

Head coach Rick Barnes is in his eighth year at Tennessee. Barnes was named the Naismith Coach of the Year in 2019 after leading the Volunteers to a 31-6 record — the most wins in a single season in school history. Prior to arriving in Knoxville, Barnes coached at Texas from 1998-2015 where he won the Big 12 three times and led the Longhorns to the Final Four in 2003. In 1985-86, Barnes was an assistant for the Crimson Tide under head coach Wimp Sanderson.

“Coach Barnes has done an unbelievable job,” Oats said. “They've been [in the] top-5, top-10 in the country it seems like more often than not since I've been here. They’ve established themselves as one of the best teams in the SEC year in and year out. It's no different this year.”

Tennessee boasts a very balanced attack. The Volunteers have six players that average at least 8.8 points per game. They are led by guard Santiago Vescovi, who is averaging 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists. His backcourt counterpart, Zakai Zeigler, is averaging 10.8 points and 5.4 assists — second in the SEC. Vescovi and Zeigler each average two steals per game — tied for third in the conference.

Tennessee isn’t always going to beat you on offense. But it can on defense.

The Volunteers are the No. 1 team in the country in defensive efficiency according to KenPom. Tennessee is allowing just 56.3 points per game this season — third in the country. The Volunteers have allowed 60 or more points just five times in 12 SEC contests.

“[Tennessee is] very aggressive, very physical,” Gurley said. “They force a lot of turnovers, so we’ve got to be smart with the ball.”

“[Barnes’] teams are always super tough, hard-nosed — play [as] hard as can be,” Oats said. “That’s why they’re No. 1 in the country in defensive efficiency. […] They’re one of the toughest, most physical teams in the country every year — particularly this year.”

Charles Bediako (5.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG) is questionable for Wednesday night’s game with a minor knee injury that he suffered on Saturday at Auburn. Josiah-Jordan James (9.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG) and Julian Phillips (9.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG) are both questionable for Tennessee.

At this moment, the Crimson Tide is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament according to Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology.” The Volunteers are currently a No. 3 seed.

It doesn’t get much bigger than this on the SEC calendar this season.

Tipoff between Alabama and Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

See Also:

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