Alabama Hosts Tennessee in Top-15 Men’s Basketball Matchup

Tennessee men’s basketball travels to Tuscaloosa to take on the No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide Saturday night. Alabama (20-8) is looking to upset the No. 4 Volunteers in its home arena.

Tennessee’s Offensive Success

The Volunteers (22-6) are coming into this matchup on a five-game win streak.

Led by Dalton Knecht’s 39 points, Tennessee took down No. 11 Auburn 92-84 on Wednesday. Knecht put up 25 points in the last 12 minutes to get the win for the Vols.

This is the fourth game of the season where the senior guard scored over 35 points. In the matchup with the Tigers, he tied his career-high in points, which he set on Jan. 16 when Tennessee hosted Florida.

https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1763030226424963247

Zakai Zeigler and Jonas Aidoo were the only other Vols to score in double figures.

Zeigler nearly recorded a double-double, leading his team with nine assists. Aidoo was Tennessee’s leading rebounder for the night, bringing down seven boards.

Alabama Gets Road Win

The Tide are coming off of a 103-88 win at Ole Miss. After trailing at halftime, Alabama outscored the Rebels 64-46 in the last 20 minutes.

A Dub in the 'Sip!#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/a5kz6Ogoo4

— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) February 29, 2024

Senior guard Mark Sears led Alabama with 26 points. Fellow senior Aaron Estrada recorded a triple-double, scoring 18 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Davin Cosby Jr., Rylan Griffen, Grant Nelson and Nick Pringle also put up double figures in scoring. The Crimson Tide had six players with 10 points or more against the Rebels.

Moving Forward

Alabama leads the long-standing series by 10 wins, but the Volunteers have won the last two meetings. Tennessee defeated Alabama earlier this season 91-71.

The Volunteers currently hold the No. 1 seed in the SEC, but Alabama is close behind in second. Both teams stand at 12-3 in conference play.

Knecht now leads the SEC with 20.8 points per game with Sears trailing closely behind at 20.6.

it's on the internet; has to be true pic.twitter.com/TUHgXnlv7D

— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) March 1, 2024

The top-15 matchup will tip-off Saturday at 8 p.m. at Coleman Coliseum and will air on ESPN.