Alabama vs. Tennessee Picks, Predictions, Odds

The new No. 1 team in the country is likely to fall from its perch on Wednesday night. For just the second time in program history, the Alabama Crimson Tide are ranked No. 1 in college basketball.

The perennial college football juggernauts have been great under Nate Oats this season with two potential lottery picks in Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney. Alabama is 12-0 in SEC play, but the Crimson Tide are underdogs to the Tennessee Volunteers in the lone meeting between these teams during the regular season.

On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, the Tennessee Volunteers will host the Alabama Crimson Tide. This game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2 from Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Alabama vs. Tennessee Betting Prediction

This is a very difficult spot for Alabama. Although the Crimson Tide are a national championship contender with a nice combination of talent and experience, they have only played a handful of games in truly hostile road environments.

They will likely be without center Charles Bediako in this game due to a knee injury, and that will add a degree of difficulty to their task. Tennessee has the top defense in the country according to Ken Pomeroy, and that will allow the Volunteers to pick up the victory despite the talent on this Alabama team.

Score Prediction: Tennessee 75 Alabama 68
Best Bet: Tennessee -3

Alabama vs. Tennessee Betting Odds

Alabama vs. Tennessee Betting Resources

Date: Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023
TV-Time: ESPN2, 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Thompson-Boling Arena
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Matchup
Expert Picks

SEC Tournament Odds

Alabama vs. Tennessee Betting Stats

Alabama Crimson Tide
SU: 22-3
ATS: 16-9
O/U: 10-14
PPG: 83.4
OPPG: 68.7

Tennessee Volunteers
SU: 19-6
ATS: 13-12
O/U: 10-15
PPG: 72.5
OPPG: 56.3

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Alabama Crimson Tide Betting Analysis

Brandon Miller is looking more and more like the probable No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft and the best player in college basketball this season. Miller is the type of tall wing that teams covet in the modern day NBA as a 6'9 big that can make it rain from downtown on a consistent basis. Alabama's superstar big man is averaging 18.8 PPG and 8.2 RPG to pace the Crimson Tide in both categories, and he is making 45.5% of his field goals and 42.7% of his threes in Nate Oats' high tempo offense.

That's been huge for the Crimson Tide because the guard play has been average to above average at best. Mark Sears is the only guard that is hitting his threes at a solid rate, and that's a big part of this offense as Alabama is taking nearly 30 three-point attempts a game. Sears is making 39.3% of his treys, while no one else in the backcourt is over 35.1% this season.

Noah Clowney has the potential to be the X-Factor in this game with Charles Bediako likely out due to a knee injury. Clowney is another freshman that could be a lottery pick this summer, averaging 9.8 PPG and 8.0 RPG. He doesn't have near the same touch from the perimeter as Miller, but he has the size to take over a game on the glass.

For as much praise as the Alabama offense gets, the defense has been great this year. The Crimson Tide rank fifth nationally in defense by Pomeroy, and they rank second in three-point defense and first in two-point defense. They do surrender a lot of free throws though, and they don't turn the ball over as much of their success comes from getting out to early leads and forcing teams to play catch-up against their tempo.

Tennessee Volunteers Betting Analysis

Rick Barnes has had some very good teams over the years at Texas and Tennessee. However, he has a reputation of being a choke artist in the NCAA Tournament as he has just one Final Four appearance in 22 trips to the Big Dance. Barnes has only advanced past the first weekend six times despite typically having a talent advantage, so his ability to win big games has been consistently called into questions.

There's no denying this defense is elite though. The Volunteers are allowing opponents to make just 24.2% of their threes as the perimeter defense has been phenomenal. Seniors like Santiago Vescovi and Olivier Nkamhoua have completely bought in, and that energy has been picked up by the younger guys. Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler both rank in the top 70 nationally in steal rate too, as the Vols swallow up inexperienced guards.

Tennessee doesn't have a great shooter on offense though. Vescovi and Nkamhoua are two of the top three scorers, and Indiana State transfer Tyreke Key hasn't been the same creative force that he was with the Sycamores. It's pretty much a team effort when the Vols have the ball, but everyone buys in on defense and rebounding and that goes a long way.