No. 19/19 Alabama and No. 14/15 Tennessee Open SEC Play Wednesday Night in a Battle of Top-25 Teams

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – No. 19/19 Alabama will begin defense of its 2021 Southeastern Conference regular season crown Wednesday night when it welcomes No. 14/15 Tennessee to Coleman Coliseum in the league opener for both teams. The contest, which will be the lone meeting in the regular season between the two rivals, is slated for an 8 p.m. CT tip and will be televised on ESPN2.

The contest between the Tide and Vols marks the first time Alabama will play a league opener in which both UA and its opponent are ranked among the AP Top 25 since Jan. 5, 1973. In that contest that was played just shy of 49 years ago, then-No. 7 Alabama lost to then-No. 10 Vanderbilt, 73-72, in Nashville. Additionally, the last time the Tide played its conference home opener in which both teams were ranked came on Jan. 9, 2007 when then-No. 8 Alabama bettered No. 14 LSU, 71-61.

The Crimson Tide will be looking to rebound after it fell for the second time in its last three games, dropping dropped a 79-78 decision to Davidson in the C.M. Newton Classic on Dec. 21 in Birmingham, Ala. The loss came on the heels of a 92-78 loss at Memphis on Dec. 14 followed by a 65-59 home win over Jacksonville State on Dec. 18.

The Broadcast

Wednesday night's game will be available on ESPN2 with Karl Ravech (play-by-play) and Jimmy Dykes (analyst) on the call
The radio broadcast can be heard on the Crimson Tide Sports Network with Chris Stewart (play-by-play), Bryan Passink (analyst) and Roger Hoover (sideline) on the call with Top Stipe (engineer) turning the dials. The pregame show will begin one hour prior to tipoff.

Notes You Need To Know

The Crimson Tide has won 16 consecutive games inside Coleman Coliseum dating back to a 73-71 loss to Western Kentucky on Dec. 19, 2020. The streak began in the very next game vs. East Tennessee State (won, 85-69) on Dec. 22, 2020. The 14-straight home wins is the longest home winning streak since claiming a school-record 24-straight home wins from March of 2010 to December of 2011.
The Crimson Tide comes into the game ranked No. 19 by the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Poll according to the most recent national rankings, which were revealed Monday afternoon.
In addition to its national rankings, Alabama is ranked in the following (as of 12/27): No. 16 Sagarin, No. 18 KenPom.com, No. 23 ESPN.com BPI, No. 24 NCAA NET. The Tide's "Best" NET wins include: Houston (No. 4), Gonzaga (No. 5), Oakland (No. 69) and Drake (No. 91).
According to the most recent KenPom rankings (as of 12/27), the Tide ranks No. 9 in the nation in offensive efficiency, No. 10 in average possession length and No. 33 in adjusted tempo. The site also ranks UA No. 53 in the nation and defensive efficiency.
The Crimson Tide is one of five SEC schools that are ranked in this week's AP poll, which is tops among all conferences (Big 12 and Pac 12 have four each). Joining Alabama from the SEC is Auburn (No. 11), Tennessee (No. 14), LSU (No. 16) and Kentucky (No. 18).
The Tide enters the contest ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 15 in the nation in scoring offense at 82.9 points per game. UA also leads the league and is ranked 20th in the nation in threes attempted (353), No. 30 in the nation in threes made per game (9.9) and No. 37 in threes made (119).
The Crimson Tide won both games against the Volunteers last year, taking a 71-63 victory in Knoxville on Jan. 2, 2021 and a 73-68 triumph in the SEC Tournament semifinals on March 13, 2021. With the wins, Alabama improved to 81-70 in the all-time series. However, the Vols have won two of the last four games played at Alabama, including a 69-68 victory in their last appearance in Tuscaloosa, which came on Feb. 4, 2020.
Alabama is ranked No. 24 in the NCAA NET and No. 18 in the Ken Pomeroy rankings (as of 12/27). According to the NET rankings, UA owns a 2-2 record vs. Quad 1 opponents and is 2-1 vs. Quad 2 foes. The Tide has an average opponent NET ranking of No. 2 in the nation and is one of four teams to have not played a Quad 4 opponent (Jackson State, Northwestern State and Prairie View).
UP NEXT: The Crimson Tide will begin a stretch of three road contests over its next four SEC games when it travels to Gainesville, Fla., to take on the Florida Gators on Saturday, Jan. 5, at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) on ESPN2 or ESPNU.

About Alabama

Alabama is in its 109th season of basketball in 2021-22. The Tide's first season of hoops came in 1912-13. There was no season in 1943-44 due to World War II.
The Crimson Tide is led by three players who average double figures in Jaden Shackelford (16.8 ppg), Jahvon Quinerly (14.7 ppg) and Keon Ellis (12.4 ppg). The trio combines to account for 53 percent (43.9 of the 82.9 points per game average), 70 percent of the three-pointers made (83 of 119), 51 percent field goals made (184 of 362) and 50 percent of the total free throws made (76 of 152).
A pair of freshmen have also made their mark through the early portion of the schedule in guard JD Davison and center Charles Bediako. Davison, a consensus five star and McDonald's All-American, leads Alabama in assists (4.5 apg) while also ranking among the team leaders at 8.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest. Bediako has been a force on the inside, collecting 7.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game. Sophomore Juwan Gary has also been coming on as of late and is averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
As a team, Alabama is averaging 82.9 points per contest, which ranks second in the SEC and 15th nationally, and outscoring the competition by an average of 9.6 points per game (82.9-73.3). The Tide is averaging 9.9 threes made per game, while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from beyond the arc and 67.6 percent from the charity stripe. UA also owns a rebounding margin of +5.9 (40.9-35.0) for the year.
The Crimson Tide ranks 53rd nationally in defensive efficiency entering the contest, according to KenPom.com. For the year, Alabama is allowing opponents to average 73.3 points per game while limiting foes to 43.1 percent shooting from the field and 30.0 percent from beyond the arc.
Alabama was picked to finish second in the league in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Kentucky was the preseason favorite to win this year's regular season title, followed by the Tide, Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn to round out the top five. Both Quinerly and Shackelford were named to the SEC Preseason First Team.
The Tide holds an all-time record of 1,726-1,071-1 (.616), which includes an 815-629 (.565) record in SEC play. By capturing its 800th SEC win, Alabama joined Kentucky as the only two teams in conference history to reach the milestone. UA also became the third team in the SEC and 34th team in NCAA history to reach 1,700 program wins. Only Kentucky and Arkansas have more wins than the Crimson Tide.

About Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers come into Wednesday night's game sporting a 9-2 overall record, including winning three straight games. Most recently, UT captured its biggest win of the season when it toppled previous unbeaten and No. 6-ranked Arizona, 77-73, Dec. 22 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee enters the contest ranked No. 2 overall in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, and have held five consecutive opponents to under 55 points. On the year, the Volunteers are holding opponents to 59.3 points a game which ranked No. 2 in the SEC and No. 21 nationally. Tennessee is outscoring the competition by 19.1 points per game (78.4-59.3) which ranks 12th in the nation, while shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from deep.
The Vols rank among the nation's leaders in several other categories, checking in at 11th in the nation in steals per game (10.4) and is fifth nationally in turnover margin (+6.8), sixth in assist-turnover ratio (1.71) and eighth in assists per game (18.6).
Freshman guard Kennedy Chandler leads a balanced offensive attack, topping the team in scoring (14.0 ppg), assists (5.3 apg), steals (2.0 spg), field goals made (60) and attempted (135) and minutes (29.8 mpg). Junior guard Santiago Vescovi is the only other Volunteer to average in double figures, coming into the game at 13.3 points a game and is the team's top three-point shooter (30-of-85).
Graduate forward John Fulkerson leads UT in rebounding (6.6 rpg), blocks (15) and field goal percentage (57.4 percent) while also adding 9.9 ponts per game. Fulkerson's 24-point, 10-rebound performance in the win over the Wildcats earned him the Co-SEC Player of the Week
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is in his seventh season at Tennessee and his 35th year as a collegiate head coach. During his seven years in Knoxville, Barnes has guided the Volunteers to a record of 132-75 (.638) and owns a career record of 736-389 (.654).

Alabama-Tennessee Series Notes

Wednesday's contest will mark the 152nd meeting in series history between to two schools, which is the sixth-most common opponent in program lore. The Crimson Tide owns an 81-70 edge in the all-time series.
The Tide won both contests played against the Volunteers last season, claiming a 71-63 victory in Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 2 and a 73-68 win in the SEC Tournament semifinals on March 13 (box score on page 9). It marked Alabama's first back-to-back wins in the series since 2015 and 2016.
With the victories last season, the Tide has won nine of the last 14 meetings and 17 of the last 26 games between the two teams
This marks the Vols first appearance in Tuscaloosa since taking a 69-68 win on Feb. 4, 2020. UA owns a 45-19 all-time record when playing Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, including a 28-10 mark under the arched roof of Coleman Coliseum.
Fourteen of the last 19 games have been decided by 10 or fewer points including four straight and six of the last seven
The series began during 1913-14 campaign.

For all the latest information on the team, follow AlabamaMBB on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can be found @UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.