No. 6 Alabama vs. No. 5 Tennessee

The SEC has absolutely delivered with matchups this season, and we’ve got another top-ten matchup to look forward to this weekend.

No. 6 Alabama faces No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday.

It’s been an interesting past two weeks for the Crimson Tide, winners of just two of their last four matchups that were all against ranked teams. They fell to Auburn at home and Missouri on the road, but followed that up with back-to-back impressive wins against Kentucky and Mississippi State.

Tennessee has put together three straight victories, and while only one was against a ranked team, it’s a nice rebound following their February 11 loss to Kentucky.

The big matchup to highlight in this game is between the senior guards, Alabama’s Mark Sears and Tennessee’s Chaz Lanier. Sears averages 19 points on 41% shooting and Lanier posts 17.8 points on 42.5% shooting.

The supporting casts from both teams are fantastic as well. In addition to Sears, Alabama features five scorers that average double-digits, with Aden Holloway and Grant Nelson leading the way at 12 points per game. Tennessee only has three but has the third best player in this game, senior guard Zakai Ziegler, who records 13 points per game.

Both coaches are stellar. Alabama’s Nate Oats and Tennessee’s Rick Barnes both have their squads at a 23-5 overall record, but it’s Oats who has the edge in conference record, 12-3 compared to Barnes’ 10-5. Regardless, both coaches have kept their teams at terrific status all season long.

The game will be played at the Food City Center in Knoxville, TN. You can tune in to ESPN at 4:00 p.m. to witness what could be yet another SEC classic.

Adam Pietrzak is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email app5940@psu.edu.