Tennessee basketball asks fans to Checker TBA against No. 1 Alabama
No. 10 Tennessee’s game against No. 1 Alabama on Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena will be a Checker TBA game, the Vols announced on Monday. Tennessee and Alabama are scheduled for a 7 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN2.
Fans can go to CheckerTBA.com to find out which color to wear to Wednesday’s game.
The Vols (19-6, 8-4 SEC), coming off back-to-back buzzer-beating losses at Vanderbilt and at home against Missouri last week, dropped four spots to No. 10 in Monday’s updated Associated Press Top 25.
Alabama (22-3, 12-0) jumped up two spots to No. 1 after Purdue, last week’s top-ranked team, lost at Northwestern on Sunday. The Crimson Tide, ranked No. 1 for the first time since 2002, also moved ahead of Houston in the rankings.
Vols facing a team ranked No. 1 for 20th time in program history
Wednesday will be the 20th time Tennessee has played a team ranked No. 1, with Kentucky 12 of those games. The Vols are 5-14 overall, including a 2-4 record at home, against top-ranked teams.
Tennessee climbed as high as No. 2 in the rankings in recent weeks but have lost three of the last four games, starting February 1 at Florida.
Alabama lost to UConn in Portland in November and to Gonzaga in Birmingham in December. The Tide then won nine straight before losing 93-69 at Oklahoma in the Big 12-SEC Challenge on January 28.
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Since then, Alabama has bounced back with four straight wins by an average of 25.7 points per game.
“Their perimeter guys do what they need to do,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said before practice on Monday. “They understand they have rim protection inside and I believe, they believe if you want to go in there we have some guys that can clean some things up. They’ll play personnel, they’ll play analytics.
“They would not have been able to win so many games they’ve won, in places that they’ve won without being solid, more than solid. They’re a much better defensive team than I think people give them credit for.”
Up Next: No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Alabama, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Alabama is led by five-star freshman Brandon Miller, who averages 18.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He’s shooting 45.5 percent from the 3-point line and 42.7 percent from the 3-point line while playing 33.0 minutes per game.
“I don’t think you stop great players,” Barnes said when asked how to slow Miller down. “You have to try and work hard and when the day’s done he’s going to get his points and you just have to hope that he had to work to get all of them, but when it comes to playing against great players, great teams you’re not going to stop them. You just have to hope everything they get they had to earn it.”
