SEC Basketball Preview/Prediction: Tennessee at Alabama

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Tennessee visits Alabama on Tuesday in a key SEC basketball matchup. Look inside for a preview of the game along with a prediction of the game’s final score.

By 14Powers Hoops

Team Statistical Comparison

	FG%	3PT%	FT%	ORB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
Tennessee	0.433	0.314	0.749	199	741	318	121	123	285
Tennessee OPP	0.386	0.305	0.687	224	722	209	152	64	272
Alabama	0.440	0.347	0.711	236	860	290	132	101	327
Alabama OPP	0.408	0.303	0.740	256	827	239	178	83	292

Statistical Leaders

Tennessee Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Jordan Bowden	Tennessee	12.6	90	52	33
John Fulkerson	Tennessee	11.6	97	49	0
Yves Pons	Tennessee	11.1	88	35	22
Josiah-Jordan James	Tennessee	7.8	53	28	22
Olivier Nkamhoua	Tennessee	4.0	37	10	1
Jalen Johnson	Tennessee	3.6	23	13	16
Davonte Gaines	Tennessee	2.6	12	22	3
Drew Pember	Tennessee	1.7	7	10	3

Tennessee Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
John Fulkerson	Tennessee	41	86	127	6.0
Josiah-Jordan James	Tennessee	20	94	114	5.7
Yves Pons	Tennessee	28	72	100	4.8
Jordan Bowden	Tennessee	7	70	77	3.7
Olivier Nkamhoua	Tennessee	29	45	74	3.5
Jalen Johnson	Tennessee	11	34	45	2.1
Lamonte Turner	Tennessee	7	32	39	3.5
Santiago Vescovi	Tennessee	5	28	33	3.7
Davonte Gaines	Tennessee	7	24	31	1.6
Drew Pember	Tennessee	9	11	20	1.3
Uros Plavsic	Tennessee	4	3	7	1.2
Zach Kent	Tennessee	0	2	2	1.0

Alabama Scoring Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
PLAYER	TEAM	PPG	FGM	FTM	3PTM
Kira Lewis Jr.	Alabama	16.4	126	65	28
John Petty Jr.	Alabama	15.4	104	49	66
Jaden Shackelford	Alabama	13.4	87	59	49
Herbert Jones	Alabama	9.9	66	55	1
Alex Reese	Alabama	9.9	71	28	38
James Bolden	Alabama	7.9	43	32	25
Javian Davis	Alabama	6.1	43	42	0
Galin Smith	Alabama	2.7	23	10	0
Jaylen Forbes	Alabama	2.6	16	12	7

Alabama Rebounding Leaders

PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
PLAYER	TEAM	OR	DR	TR	RPG
John Petty Jr.	Alabama	33	118	151	7.2
Herbert Jones	Alabama	36	84	120	6.3
Kira Lewis Jr.	Alabama	21	91	112	5.3
Alex Reese	Alabama	20	79	99	4.7
Jaden Shackelford	Alabama	20	70	90	4.3
Javian Davis	Alabama	29	52	81	3.9
Galin Smith	Alabama	24	28	52	2.5
Jaylen Forbes	Alabama	16	35	51	2.6
James Bolden	Alabama	12	20	32	1.8
Tyler Barnes	Alabama	0	4	4	0.7
Adam Cottrell	Alabama	0	1	1	0.3

NCAA RPI

Tennessee: 70

Alabama: 41

Tennessee Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Davonte Gaines	G	6′-7″	178	FR	Buffalo, NY
1	Lamonte Turner	G	6′-2″	187	SR	Florence, AL
3	Drew Pember	F	6′-9″	207	FR	Knoxville, TN
4	Jacob Fleschman	G	6′-3″	176	JR	Austin, TX
5	Josiah-Jordan James	G	6′-6″	208	FR	Charleston, SC
10	John Fulkerson	F	6′-9″	212	JR	Kingsport, TN
12	Victor Bailey Jr.	G	6′-4″	186	JR	Austin, TX
13	Jalen Johnson	G	6′-6″	196	JR	Durham, NC
21	Olivier Nkamhoua	F	6′-8″	224	FR	Cumberland, MD
23	Jordan Bowden	G	6′-5″	193	SR	Knoxville, TN
30	Brock Jancek	F	6′-8″	222	SO	Knoxville, TN
33	Zach Kent	F	6′-11″	235	SO	Magnolia, DE
34	Uros Plavsic	F	7′-0″	240	FR	Chattanooga, TN
35	Yves Pons	G	6′-6″	215	JR	Paris, FR

Alabama Roster

No.	Name	Pos.	HT	WT	Class	City-State
0	Javian Davis	F	6′-9″	242	FR	Canton, MS
1	Herbert Jones	F	6′-7″	205	JR	Greensboro, AL
2	Kira Lewis Jr.	G	6′-3″	165	SO	Meridianville, AL
3	Alex Reese	F	6′-9″	245	JR	Pelham, AL
4	Juwan Gary	F	6′-5″	215	FR	Columbia, SC
5	Jaden Shackelford	G	6′-3″	195	FR	Hesperia, CA
11	James Bolden	G	6′-0″	160	SR	Covington, KY
12	Jaylen Forbes	G	6′-4″	186	FR	Florence, MS
13	Jahvon Quinerly	G	6′-1″	175	SO	Hackensack, NJ
15	Tyler Barnes	F	6′-8″	201	JR	Louisville, KY
21	Britton Johnson	G	6′-4″	183	SO	Mountain Brook, AL
23	John Petty Jr.	G	6′-5″	184	JR	Huntsville, AL
25	Adam Cottrell	G	6′-3″	185	FR	Flowery Branch, GA
30	Galin Smith	F	6′-9″	240	JR	Clinton, MS
33	James Rojas	F	6′-8″	215	JR	Jamestown, NY
34	Sam Okauru	G	6′-5″	200	FR	Raleigh, NC
35	Raymond Hawkins	F	6′-9″	240	FR	Oakland, CA

Scouting Report

Tennessee (12-9, 4-4 SEC) fell to Mississippi State 86-73 on Saturday in Starkville. In the first half the lead changed several times before the Vols headed to halftime up 34-28. The Vols maintained their lead in the second half until the 16:17 mark when State took the lead on a pair of Reggie Perry made free throws. Tennessee would never lead again and the Bulldogs would lead by as much as 17 in the final minutes. Perry led the Bulldogs with 24 points. He also had 11 rebounds. Uros Plavsic and Santiago Vescovi co-led the Vols with 16 points. This game was won in the paint with the Bulldogs outscoring the Vols 32-20 inside.

Jordan Bowden leads the Vols in scoring at 12.6 points per contest. John Fulkerson is the Vols’ second leading scorer for the season averaging 11.6 points per game. Fulkerson also leads the Vols in rebounding pulling down 6.0 boards a game. Tennessee is currently No. 1 in the SEC in scoring defense (60.0 ppg). A big reason for that is that the Vols are very stingy at allowing opponents to make field goals (37.8%, No. 1 SEC). For the season, the Vols are hitting 43% of their field goals, 31.4% of 3-point shots and 74.9% of free throws.

Alabama (12-9, 4-4 SEC) fell to Arkansas 82-78 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Bama jumped out to a very early 12-0 lead and held the led for all but a 3-minute span in the first half. The Crimson Tide led 39-36 at the half. In the second half Alabama maintained its lead until just under 11 minutes to play when a Jimmy Whitt Jr. free throw put the Razorbacks on top 56-55. The Tide re-took the lead at 67-66 with 5:29 to play on a John Petty Jr. layup. However, with 3:20 to play the Hogs took the lead for good on a Jalen Harris free throw. Arkansas would lead by as much as seven in the final moments of the game. Mason Jones led the Hogs with 30 points. Jones hit on 4 of 7 3-point attempts. Jaden Shackelford led the Crimson Tide with 28. The difference in this game was 17 Alabama turnovers and the Razorbacks limiting the Tide to just six made three point shots (8/31, 26%).

Kira Lewis Jr. leads the Tide in scoring averaging 16.4 points per game. Petty, Jr. is not far behind Lewis at 15.4 points a contest. Petty leads the Tide in rebounding pulling down over 7 a game. Bama is No. 1 in the SEC in scoring offense (82.4 ppg). The Crimson Tide is dead last in scoring defense, however, allowing 77.2 points a contest. The Tide is also No. 1 in the SEC in 3-point shooting hitting 35.1%. Bama has made for 3-point shots than any other team in the SEC with 207.

This is a key game for both teams. The loser falls below .500 while the winner does not. It’s Tennessee’s No. 1 SEC scoring defense against the top scoring team in the league. This one is a tossup.. so you go with the home team.

Tennessee-Alabama Prediction

Alabama 76, Tennessee 75

Tuesday‘s game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU.