Tennessee vs. Alabama Prediction, Odds and Key Players to Watch for Saturday, Jan. 24

The Tennessee Volunteers have flip-flopped between wins and losses over their past six games, most recently losing to the Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 80-78. On Saturday night, they'll hit the road to take on a very tough Alabama Crimson Tide team that's coming into the weekend on a two-game win streak.

Let's dive into the odds and my best bet for this SEC showdown.

Tennessee vs. Alabama Odds, Spread, and Total

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread

Tennessee +4.5 (-112)
Alabama -4.5 (-108)

Moneyline

Tennessee +160
Alabama -192

Total

OVER 166.5 (-112)
UNDER 166.5 (-108)

Tennessee vs. Alabama How to Watch

Date: Saturday, January 24
Game Time: 8:30 pm ET
Venue: Coleman Coliseum
How to Watch (TV): ESPN
Tennessee Record: 12-6 (2-3 in SEC)
Alabama Record: 13-5 (3-2 in SEC)

Tennessee vs. Alabama Betting Trends

Tennessee is 1-4 ATS in its last five games
The OVER is 6-0 in Tennessee's last six games
Tennessee is 4-1 ATS in its last five games against Alabama
Tennessee is 0-5 ATS in its last five road game
Alabama is 3-6 ATS in its last nine games
The UNDER is 12-1 in the last 13 meetings between these two teams

Tennessee vs. Alabama Key Player to Watch

Ja'Kobi Gillespie, G - Tennessee Volunteers

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is Tennessee's leading scorer, averaging 18.6 points per game, while also averaging 5.6 assists per game, but what might be even more important in this game is how he defends the Crimson Tide. To have any chance to beat Alabama, you have to play lockdown defense on the perimeter. That puts a lot of pressure on Gillespie, whose job will be to do exactly that.

Tennessee vs. Alabama Prediction and Pick

The Tennessee defense is going to be the difference-maker in this game. The Volunteers are 25th in defensive efficiency, and even more importantly, they're 34th in opponent three-point field goal percentage, keeping teams to shooting just 30.1% from three-point range. If they can keep that level of perimeter defense up, they're going to cause the Crimson Tide plenty of fits.

Alabama is not nearly as good on the defense end, ranking 188th in defensive efficiency.

If Alabama had a significant advantage on offense, I'd consider laying the points on them at home, but Tennessee's effective field goal percentage is just 1% lower than Alabama's this season.

Give me the points with the Vols on Saturday night.

Pick: Tennessee +4.5 (-112) via DraftKings

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