The Official #5 Tennessee vs. #6 Alabama Game Thread, 4:00 PM ET, ESPN

#1
YankeeVol

YankeeVol

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#1
#5 Tennessee Volunteers: 23-5 (10-5 SEC)
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vs.

#6 Alabama Crimson Tide: 23-5 (12-3 SEC)
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GAME 29 | TENNESSEE vs. ALABAMA - Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 4 p.m. ET | Knoxville, Tenn. | Food City Center (21,678)


Line: UT -3.5
O/U: 158.5

TV: ESPN / Watch
Radio: Vol Network / Listen / Live Stats
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM: 82
Online: WatchESPN.com


Alabama Game Notes

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#2
#2
THE MATCHUP

• Tennessee is 6-4 in its last 10 meetings with Alabama, dating back to 3/4/17. The Volunteers won the last three games after the Crimson Tide took the prior three.
• Nine of the series' last 11 games, including seven of the past eight, had a single-digit scoring margin.
• Tennessee and Alabama are meeting with both in the AP top six for the first time ever.
• This is the third consecutive year Alabama is in Knoxville. UT won, 91-71, on 1/20/24 behind 25 points from Dalton Knecht. It also won an AP top-10 showdown, 68-59, on 2/15/23 over #1 Alabama for its sixth victory over the AP #1 team.
• Rick Barnes' was as an assistant at Alabama in 1985-86. UT assistant Gregg Polinsky then replaced him on staff, working there 1986-95.
• Coming off a 25-12 (13-5) showing in 2023-24 that included its first Final Four bid, Alabama was picked to win the SEC this year.
• Graduate guard Mark Sears, the SEC Preseason Player of the Year, paces the Crimson Tide with 19.0 ppg, second-best in the SEC, and 5.0 apg.
 
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#3
#3
NEWS & NOTES

• Cade Phillips is a Jacksonville, Ala., native. His father (John David Phillips), uncle (Brodie Croyle) and grandfather (John Croyle) played football at Alabama, while his mother (Reagan [Croyle] Phillips) played basketball there.
• Tennessee and Alabama are two of the only three schools with three 1,400-point scorers. The other, Ole Miss, is also in the SEC.
• This is UT's fifth AP top-eight clash in SEC play this year, after it had six prior in program history.
• Dick Vitale will broadcast from Food City Center for the first time since 1/28/23, when he called #4 Tennessee's win over #10 Texas, 82-71, in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.
• UT opens March with at home after playing there just once over the final 23 days of February.
• The Vols are 7-1 all-time in home AP top-10 matchups. That includes a 4-0 mark at Food City Center, all under Rick Barnes, with each win by nine-plus points. UT went 3-1 at Stokely Athletics Center.
• Zakai Zeigler has 16-plus points in nine of the last 12 contests, including each of the past six.
• With 829 DI victories, Rick Barnes is one shy of John Calipari for first among active coaches and for No. 10 all-time. His 110 SEC wins tie Don DeVoe for the No. 19 spot.
• Zakai Zeigler has 197 assists this year, putting him three shy of the fifth 200-assist campaign in UT history, including his second. His 1,420 career points also put him 12 away from a top-20 spot on the Volunteers' all-time list.
• Chaz Lanier (97) is three made 3-pointers away from passing Allan Houston (99 in 1990-91) for fifth on the program's single- season list. He would be the third Vol with 100 in a year, joining Chris Lofton (three times) and Santiago Vescovi (102 in 2021-22).
• UT has earned a top-10 position in 33 of the 38 AP Poll releases the last two seasons, with a top-eight spot in 29 of the last 32 releases.
• Tennessee's 194 victories over the last eight seasons (2017-25) rank ninth in DI. Only Gonzaga (235), Houston (232), Duke (210), Kansas (210), Purdue (201), San Diego State (196), Saint Mary's (196) and Auburn (196) and possess more.
 
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#4
#4
RACKING UP RANKED VICTORIES

• TOP 25: In the past four years (2021-25), Tennessee's 27 AP top-25 wins lead the nation. Only Connecticut (25) and Kansas (25) are even within to, while the closest SEC school is three back (Alabama with 24).
• TOP 20: Tennessee is co-first in DI with 23 AP top- 20 triumphs over that span, tied with Connecticut (23) for the national lead. Only Kansas (22) is even within three, while the closest SEC program is four behind (Alabama with 19).
• TOP 15: The Volunteers are tied for the DI lead with 20 AP top-15 decisions over those four years, matching Kansas (20). Only Alabama (closest SEC team with 16) is even within four of UT.
• TOP 10: Since 2021-22, Tennessee owns 10 AP top- 10 wins, second in the SEC and co-fifth nationally, the latter alongside Purdue (10). Only Connecticut (12), Iowa State (12), Kansas (12) and Kentucky (11) have more. The 10 such wins in that time are against #1 Alabama (2/15/23), #3 Kansas (11/25/22), #3 Auburn (2/26/22), #4 Kentucky (2/15/22), #5 Kentucky (3/12/22), #6 Arizona (12/22/21), #10 Texas (1/28/23), at #10 Kentucky (2/3/24), #5 Florida (2/1/25) and at #7 Texas A&M (2/22/25).
• TOP FIVE: In that same four-year span, UT has six AP top-five victories, tied with Arizona for the most in the country. Only six other schools have even four: Alabama (five), Iowa State (five), Florida (four), Gonzaga (four), Kentucky (four) and Purdue (four).
 
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#5
#5
TOP-TIER TRIUMPHS

• Tennessee is 41-41 (.500) against AP top-25 foes under Rick Barnes, including 25-14 (.641) in its past 39 such games (since 1/22/22).
• The Volunteers are 35-33 (.515) versus AP top-20 teams in Barnes' tenure, including 21-10 (.677) in their last 31 such affairs (since 1/22/22).
• UT is 27-26 (.509) against AP top-15 teams in the Barnes era, including 20-9 (.690) in its last 29 such games (since 12/22/21).
• The Vols own a 15-15 (.500) record versus AP top-10 foes under Barnes, including a 13-9 (.591) mark in their last 22 such contests (since 3/2/19) and a 10-6 (.625) tally in their last 16 (since 12/22/21).
• UT is 10-9 (.526) against AP top-five opponents in Barnes' tenure, including 6-4 (.600) in its last 10 such affairs (since 2/15/22). It is 8-2 (.800) versus AP top-five SEC teams, including 7-1 (.875) in its last seven such outings (since 3/2/19).
 
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#7
#7
Would love to run Bama out the gym......I'd watch us slaughter Florida or Bama in Chess if it was televised.......death, taxes, and L's to the Gators/Bama are certainties in life.
 
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#12
#12
I’m a little surprised that this game didn’t merit ESPN College Gameday since it’s basically for a 1 seed and the top game of the day. Maybe they had already committed to go somewhere else?
 
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#16
#16
Hoggervol said:
Kansas and Texas Tech play two hours ahead of us on ESPN. Our luck they will play 3 OT's and we may get to watch the second half. Good job ESPN.
Click to expand...
Don't worry, there will be a little yellow notification on how you can watch on the ESPN + App that may or may not load.
I got an idea for ESPN, how about move the crappier game ( or at the very least games that are essentially over score wise) to the ESPN App and play the marquee game on the main channel.
 
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#17
#17
Anti-shunshinepumper said:
Don't worry, there will be a little yellow notification on how you can watch on the ESPN + App that may or may not load.
I got an idea for ESPN, how about move the crappier game ( or at the very least games that are essentially over score wise) to the ESPN App and play the marquee game on the main channel.
Click to expand...
Or give each game 2.5 hours instead of 2
 
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#20
#20
Anti-shunshinepumper said:
Don't worry, there will be a little yellow notification on how you can watch on the ESPN + App that may or may not load.
I got an idea for ESPN, how about move the crappier game ( or at the very least games that are essentially over score wise) to the ESPN App and play the marquee game on the main channel.
Click to expand...

They can’t cut away from the scheduled game until the final buzzer. That would be really bad for fans of the first game.

ESPN just wants everybody to pay them directly and watch games on streaming instead of cable TV.
 
#21
#21
Thunder Good-Oil said:
They can’t cut away from the scheduled game until the final buzzer. That would be really bad for fans of the first game.

ESPN just wants everybody to pay them directly and watch games on streaming instead of cable TV.
Click to expand...
Most likely the case. At the very least they should cut away/ switch from the games that are blow outs.
 
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