Saturday March 2nd Tennessee at Alabama Betting Preview
#4 Volunteers go on the Road to Tuscaloosa
The March 2nd Tennessee at Alabama betting contest is your classic offense vs defense matchup. The #4 Volunteers (22-6) boast the #3 field goal percentage defense in the country, which has helped them to wins in seven of their last eight.
The #14 Crimson Tide (20-8) rely more on their offense that leads the nation with 91.5 ppg and have absolutely lit up the scoreboard over their last five games. Oddsmakers opened this game as a PK, but it has been bet up to Alabama -3.5 due to the Tide’s impressive record at Coleman Coliseum this season.
Why Tennessee Has Value at +3.5
Alabama has the best team offense in the nation, but Tennessee has the greatest individual offensive weapon in Dalton Knect. The 6’6″ Senior guard scores 20.8 ppg, but has proven lately that he can absolutely go off at any time dropping 39 to tie a career high on Wednesday in a win over #11 Auburn.
Knect has now gone for 22+ points in five of his last seven, but the Vols do have some balance on offense as well. Zakai Zeigler had 17 points to go along with 9 assists vs. Auburn while Jonas Aidoo has 14+ in four of his last five including 23 in a win over Arkansas on February 14th.
While Tennessee has a couple players besides Knect that can add offensive balance, they’ll hope their defense has a similar performance as to what they did in a 91-71 win over Alabama on January 20th. That’s the lowest scoring game of the season for the Crimson Tide.
Why Alabama Has Value at -3.5
For as bad as the Crimson Tide offense looked in the first meeting against Tennessee, it’s important to remember that game was in Knoxville, where the Volunteers are 14-1 this season. It’s like going to be a different offensive story for Alabama back at Coleman Coliseum, where they are 13-1 on the season.
Alabama has also played 10 games since the previous loss to the Vols, going 8-2 while scoring 95+ points in six of their last seven. That includes a 103-88 victory at Ole Miss on Wednesday where Marcus Sears had 26 points, Aaron Estrada had an 18/10/10 triple double, and four other Crimson Tide players put up double digits.
Knect is great and could be vying for a Player of the Year award, but Sears is also dialed in with 20+ points in nine of his last 10. Estrada is also starting to assert his dominance with a 20/8/8 line in his last home game, a win over Florida.
Free March 2nd Tennessee at Alabama Betting Preview
It’s hard to go against the #4 team in the country getting +3.5 points on Saturday night, but will Knect try to do too much in a much hyped game on a Saturday night? He’s shot below 40% in two of his last three road games, and with the way Sears and Estrada are producing for the Crimson Tide it looks like Alabama defends their home court here.
Free Pick: Alabama -3.5
