Tennessee apparently knows the secret to defeating Alabama and takes aim at beating the Crimson Tide for the sixth straight time when the Southeastern Conference rivals clash on Saturday at Knoxville, Tenn.
The Volunteers continued their mastery with a 79-73 win at Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Jan. 24, holding high-octane Alabama to a season-low six 3-point baskets.
The No. 17 Crimson Tide (21-7, 11-4 SEC) knocked down a season-best 22 treys during Wednesday’s 100-75 home win over Mississippi State. Therefore, Tennessee’s perimeter defense again will be a key aspect in the rematch.
The No. 22 Volunteers (20-8, 10-5) will be looking to bounce back from Tuesday’s 73-69 road loss against Missouri.
The setback dropped Tennessee into sole possession of fourth place in the SEC with just three regular-season games remaining.
“Obviously, I’m frustrated with our guys because I know we’re better than we played,” Volunteers coach Rick Barnes said of the loss.
“This one’s over and done with, and we got to get ready because the next three for all of us in the league are critical games, for everybody. The next three games decide a lot of things for every team in the league.”
Florida (13-2 SEC) holds the conference lead by two games over Alabama and Arkansas (11-4).
The Crimson Tide are soaring with a season-best seven straight victories, the second-longest current SEC streak behind Florida’s eight in a row.
The 25-point rout over Mississippi State is Alabama’s biggest during the stretch.
“We had that embarrassing loss to Florida,” Crimson Tide freshman Amari Allen said of a 100-77 road setback on Feb. 1. “… Coach reminds us of that loss, that’s going to stick with us until we see them again. We knew we had to make changes on defense.”
Allen stood out against the Bulldogs with 23 points and a career-best six 3-pointers.
The 6-foot-8 forward stepped up with star guard Labaron Philon Jr. out with a left thigh/groin injury. Philon, who averages a team-leading 21.3 points per game, is expected to play against Tennessee.
Philon had 26 points in last month’s loss to the Volunteers.
Allen will be playing in Knoxville for the first time, but is well aware Alabama will be facing a strict test.
“It’s a big game. Every game coming up is big,” said Allen, who averages 12.5 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds. “They beat us here and now we got to go there. They are a great team and have a great atmosphere.”
Alabama racked up 63 points in the first half against the Bulldogs and reached the century mark for the eighth time this season.
“I thought the first half was the best half of basketball we’ve played all year and the ball moved well with Philon out,” Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said. “Amari was hitting threes, and as a team, we shot it well.”
Tennessee is 14-1 at home this season, the lone loss being an 80-78 decision against Kentucky on Jan. 17.
Against Missouri, Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 19 points and Nate Ament added 17 points and seven rebounds.
Gillespie leads the Volunteers in scoring (18.1) and assists (5.4), while Ament averages 17.9 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds.
Ament had 29 points in the first meeting with Alabama — one of three times he’s hit that total — but the freshman has made just 8 of 27 field-goal attempts over the past two games.
“He’s going to have to get himself going,” Barnes said of Ament. “He’s got to be the one to fight to get open. He knows how he’s been playing. It’s March. They’re not doing anything different he hasn’t seen.”
