How To Watch: No. 5 Tennessee Basketball vs. No. 6 Alabama
It’s No. 5 Tennessee. It’s No. 6 Alabama. It’s March. And it’s game day.
Tennessee (23-5, 10-5 SEC) hosts Alabama (23-5, 12-3) on Saturday inside a sold-out and orange’d out Food City Center in the biggest game of the season, with tipoff scheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN. Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Dick Vitale are on the call for ESPN, with Vitale returning to Knoxville for a game for the first time since January 2023.
Alabama enters with a 2-2 record over its last four games, losing back-to-back games against No. 1 Auburn and No. 14 Missouri to begin a tough seven-game stretch to close the regular season. The Crimson Tide bounced back with home wins over No. 17 Kentucky and No. 24 Mississippi State.
Tennessee won five of six in February, including three road wins over its last five games, after going 3-3 during a six-game stretch over three weeks in January. The Vols won at No. 12 Texas A&M last Saturday and at LSU Tuesday night.
How To Watch: No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 6 Alabama
Start Time: Saturday, 4 p.m. Eastern Time
TV: ESPN
Streaming: ESPN App or WatchESPN.com
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.
KenPom Prediction: Tennessee 79, Alabama 74 (68% chance to win)
The Line: Tennessee -3.5 (Total: 154)
NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed on the line?
Alabama is currently Joe Lunardi’s third No. 1 seed, while Tennessee is his top No. 2 seed. The next two weeks will determine which team gets the spot on the top line in the NCAA Tournament according to Lunardi’s update on Friday.
“Only one of these teams is a likely 1-seed in two weeks,” Lunardi wrote.
His latest ESPN Bracketology has Alabama as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region and the No. 3 overall seed. Tennessee is the No. 2 seed in the East Region and Lunardi’s No. 5 overall seed.
Alabama closes the regular-season schedule with three straight games against top-five opponents. The Tide hosts No. 3 Florida on Wednesday and goes to No. 1 Auburn on March 8. Tennessee goes to Ole Miss on Wednesday and hosts South Carolina on Senior Day on March 8 in Knoxville.
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Series History: Tennessee vs. Alabama
Tennessee is 73-82 all time against Alabama in a series that dates back to 1914. The Vols have won the last three, sweeping the Crimson Tide in a regular-season series last season and winning in Knoxville in 2023.
Alabama won the previous three, in Knoxville in January 2021, in the SEC Tournament semifinal round in March 2021 and in Tuscaloosa in December 2021.
Rick Barnes is 4-3 against Nate Oats, who is 140-59 (.704) in his sixth season at Alabama.
Four Vols scored in double-figures, led by Zakai Zeigler’s 18 points and 13 more from Dalton Knecht, in an 81-74 win at Tuscaloosa last season. Knecht 25 agains the Crimson Tide in Knoxville in the first meeting, then the Vols scored 23 points off of 22 Alabama turnovers.
Alabama was ranked No. 1 when Tennessee won 68-59 in Knoxville in 2023, getting 15 points each from Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi and scoring 26 points off of 19 Crimson Tide turnovers.
