Big Game: Alabama At Tennessee
College basketball season is now in full swing with several big match ups today. It isn’t a ranked/top 25 game, but Alabama going to number 6 Tennessee feels like a very important one to me. Here’s a quick preview of the big game and a pick for the winner (spoiler it’s Bama).
Alabama
This Alabama team has seemed to get things clicking lately. They are on a 6 game winning streak and through 4 games so far they are undefeated in SEC play. Alabama is averaging 90 points per game. That is insane. But in this match up they will be facing a pretty good Tennessee defense that is allowing only 66 points per game and has only allowed one team (North Carolina) to score over 80 in a game this year.
The 3 ball is working pretty well for Alabama this season which is of course their bread and butter. They are shooting just under 40% (39.7 but 40 sounds do much better) and making just under 12 3s a game. This team is coming off of a big win over Mizzou, although the game was a lot closer than the 18 point margin would suggest. But a lot of other things happened in that game including Mark Sears rolling his ankle and Coach Nate Oats pushing an opposing player. That got people all worked up. I’ll admit, not the best look.
Tennessee
I haven’t watched much of Tennessee this year but I know they have a very good team. I also know they have played an insanely tough out of conference schedule. In three straight games they played Purdue, Kansas, and UNC. That sucks for them. And it did, they lost all 3. Tennessee’s only other loss so far is in SEC play against Mississippi State 3 games ago. (Alabama beat them 2 games ago, just saying)
Tennessee plays a little different brand of basketball than Alabama, but they are still scoring 79 points per game. Against an Alabama defense that is allowing 74 a game, I would expect this to a pretty high scoring game. Dalton Knecht just scored 36 against Florida by himself So Tennessee can score with the best of them. And when it comes to scoring Alabama is among the best of them. Side note, Knecht is awesome and what a great name for a basketball player. Good for him.
The Pick
So there’s your quick look at the game, and of course my pick will be Alabama. Tennessee is favored in the game by -5.5 points with Alabama +200 ML. I will be taking Alabama +5.5 and throwing some on the ML as well. I’ll admit, this is a pick with my heart not my head kind of thing. But I also do believe in my head that Alabama can win this game. If the 3 point shot is working they can beat anybody. Plus I think this game will mean a lot to Alabama moving forward, they have played against some tough ranked teams this season and haven’t been able to get a win yet. Not to mention this would keep them undefeated in conference play and set up a match up with top 15/undefeated in SEC Auburn next week. Give me Bama every which way. Probably over 157 as well. If you want more picks for today, I gave a pick and preview of every NFL game this weekend here, and I’ll be following the games and throwing out some more picks on twitter here. Go give them a look and Roll Tide!