The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (22-3, 12-0 SEC) take on the stumbling No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (19-6, 8-4) in Knoxville Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Alabama vs. Tennessee odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Ranked No. 1 for the 1st time this season, Alabama takes a 4-game winning streak into Tennessee against a Volunteers team which has lost 2 straight. The losses to Vanderbilt and Missouri both came on last-second buzzer-beaters. Tennessee’s last win was an uninspiring 46-43 win over Auburn.
Tennessee will rely on its 3rd-ranked defense (56.3 points) to slow Alabama’s 6th-ranked offense (83.4 points). The Tide has a 21.2-point winning margin in conference play
Whichever team is able to control the pace will win. Tennessee wants a slow game in the 50’s or 60’s while Alabama will look to push the pace and knock down its 3-point shots.
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Alabama at Tennessee odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:57 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Alabama +130 (bet $100 to win $130) | Tennessee -160 (bet $160 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Alabama +3.5 (-115) | Tennessee -3.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 148.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Alabama at Tennessee picks and predictions
Prediction
Alabama 75, Tennessee 68
Moneyline
ALABAMA +130
Alabama is on a roll and looks to remain unbeaten in the SEC while Tennessee has lost 2 heartbreaking games at the buzzer.
Alabama will fire off lots of 3-point shots and will make enough of them to win this game outright. Getting the Tide as an underdog is wild here and I will take the value.
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Against the spread
PASS on the spread in favor of the ML.
With Alabama being the underdog here, the +130 value I can get on them is a better play then getting them at +3.5 (-115). With Tennessee struggling and being 0-4 ATS in its last 4 games, I will take Alabama ML as the better team.
Over/Under
UNDER 148.5 (-115)
This number is just a few points too high. Alabama and its high-powered offense will score, but not as much as it normally does against an elite Vols defense.
Tennessee, despite the offensive struggles, have gone Under in 18 of its last 21 against teams with a winning record. The Volunteers games have also gone Under in 13 of 16 Wednesday games and Alabama is 5-0 to the Under in games following an ATS victory.
Tennessee will hold the offense of the Crimson Tide down a bit. Not enough to win. But enough to make 148.5 too high and makes the Under the side.
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