Tipoff time, TV information set for No. 5 Tennessee basketball vs. Alabama
No. 5 Tennessee’s home game against Alabama on Saturday will start at 2 p.m. Eastern Time and will be televised by ESPN2. The start time and TV designation was set Sunday night, following the release of the NFL’s Saturday playoff schedule.
Tennessee (12-4, 2-1 SEC), which hosts Florida Tuesday in a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN, split road games last week, losing 77-72 at Mississippi State on Wednesday, then bouncing back in an 85-79 win at Georgia.
The Vols trailed by 15 points in the first half at Mississippi State, rallied to tie the game three times, then lost in the final minute. They led by 14 at Georgia in the first half, trailed by 11 in the second half, then ended the game on a 15-1 run for an improbable win.
Alabama (11-5, 3-0) is one of two SEC teams to start league play with three straight wins, along with Auburn, after beating Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Mississippi State.
No. 5 Tennessee vs. Alabama: How To Watch
Start Time: Saturday, 2 p.m. Eastern Time
TV: ESPN2
Streaming: FuboTV
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
Location: Thompson-Boling Arena (21,678)
KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 82, Alabama 79 (Vols 61% chance to win)
A Closer Look: Alabama
Alabama started the season with four straight wins, lost five of its next seven, and has now won five straight. The Crimson Tide’s first loss of the season came against Ohio State on a neutral floor on November 24. Other losses followed against Clemson, at home, and against Purdue, Creighton and Arizona.
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KenPom.com has Alabama at No. 6 overall, two spots ahead of Tennessee, with the No. 1 adjusted offensive efficiency rating, scoring 124.3 points per 100 possessions. The Tide are 57th in adjusted defensive efficiency (98.7).
Three Alabama players average double figures, led by guard Mark Sears at 20.3 points per game. Aaron Estrada averages 13.2 and transfer forward Grant Nelson averages 12.6. Nelson also leads the team in rebounding (5.7) while Estrada leads the team in assists (3.9) and Estrada (1.6).
Alabama was ranked No. 1 the last time it came to Thompson-Boling Arena, with No. 10 Tennessee winning 68-59. Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler scored 15 each, Jonas Aidoo had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Uros Plavsic had 10 points off the bench.
Brandon Miller, soon to be the No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, scored 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field before fouling out.
