Total Play For Late SEC Battle

Tennessee vs. Alabama, 8:00 ET

After a long day of basketball games, I usually like to try and get out for dinner or to do something with the family. We may have to move that up in the schedule because I really like the look of this game between Tennessee and Alabama. These two teams are both SEC heavyweights and looking to stay in their positions before the NCAA Tournament begins in a couple of weeks. College hoops has been good to us, and we are also looking to keep our footing and extend our bankroll. Let's see how we should play Tennessee and Alabama. 

Tennessee is in one of the tougher stretches of their schedule. They may have one of the best ranks in the country, but I still am a bit concerned about how good they actually are. Currently, they have the #4 rank in the nation, and they are 22-6 overall with a 12-3 conference record. They have won 11 of their past 13 contests, but they have only faced two ranked teams - one was on the road against Kentucky, and the other was against Auburn on Wednesday, a game we bet on and won. Tennessee's six losses have come at the hands of Purdue, Kansas, North Carolina, Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Texas A&M. Four of those six losses were on the road, and three of them were to ranked opponents. To end their schedule, Tennessee has four games against ranked opponents - they already passed one with Auburn, and now have to face Alabama. These two teams are fairly similar with back courts that lead the productivity. For the Volunteers, Dalton Knecht is their scoring machine, shooting 48% from the field and 41.4% from deep. They have four other guards that combine to average 34 points per game as well. There isn't much to speak to when it comes to the front court of Tennessee, and if their shooting is off on the road, they don't really have a guy they can go to for easy buckets. 

COLUMBIA, MO - FEBRUARY 22: Tennessee Volunteers guard Josiah-Jordan James (30) grabs a rebound in the first half of an SEC game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Missouri Tigers on Feb 22, 2022 at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, MO. (Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Alabama has put together a nice campaign after last year's hyped season with now NBA star, Brandon Miller. I was expecting them to drop down much more than they have. However, they come into today's game with a 20-8 record and are first in the SEC with a 12-3 conference record. Alabama has arguably had a tougher schedule this season than Tennessee as well. They struggled to close games in mid-December with loses to Purdue, Creighton, and Arizona all in a row. The loss to Arizona was the worst, but all three were at least reasonable or respectable. Since that point where they were 6-5 after the loss to the Wildcats, they have gone 14-3. The three losses came at Tennessee, a 20-point thrashing from the Volunteers, an 18-point loss at Auburn, and a 22-point loss at Kentucky. There is a trend there, road games against ranked opponents and they get absolutely destroyed. They haven't beaten a ranked team on the road this season. The good news for them is that they get to play this one on their home floor. This game they also get the opportunity for revenge. Mark Sears should be able to cancel out Knecht's production, and I think the rest of the Alabama guards will score effectively. Like Tennessee, there isn't much front court to speak of for the Volunteers.

This game screams over to me. I don't expect the Volunteers to win this game, but they should be able to have some effective offense nonetheless. I am kind of waiting for the floor to fall out from under Tennessee, but it may not come in this game - I still expect them to lose one or two of these last three games. I'm going to take Alabama and Tennessee to go over the total today. I do lean toward Alabama covering this game, too. 

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024