After hosting two consecutive home games, the Alabama men’s basketball team gets back on the road, traveling to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday.
Alabama (14-7, 6-1) is currently on a four-game winning streak and has won nine of its last 10 games, following a double-digit victory over Mississippi State Wednesday night. So far this season, the Tide has struggled on the road, winning only two of nine games away from Coleman Coliseum. Head coach Anthony Grant said the game location does not matter.
“It’s the next game on our schedule,” Grant said. “Tennessee is a very good team. We will have to be prepared no matter whether we’re home or away. If you’re going to play a good opponent, at the end of the day the game is decided between the lines. We just have to prepare for the team they are going to put on the floor.”
Grant also said that earlier road tests will help the team going into this big road game.
“Our guys have been in some very hostile situations,” Grant said. “I think if you look at some of the environments we have been in, like at Purdue, at Providence and even the neutra-site Oklahoma State game because it was very pro-Oklahoma State, you will see that.
“I think Tennessee has one of the highest attendance figures in the league. We expect them to cheer for and support their team. We just have to be focused and locked in on what we have to do between the lines.”
On defense, the Tide will look to pressure Tennessee with full court presses and trapping defenses. They will also look to force turnovers. On offense, the Tide will try to speed up the pace of the game and get a lot of easy baskets in transition.
For Tennessee (14-7, 4-2), the team will be playing their seventh conference game without head coach Bruce Pearl, who was suspended for the team’s first eight conference games due to violating NCAA rules.
Tony Jones has been the Volunteers’ interim head coach during Pearl’s absence. The Volunteers are led by junior guard Scotty Hopson, who averages 16.5 points per game.
“I think they have very good personnel and a very good system,” Grant said. “We have to put our players in a position where we can do a good job on the defensive end first and then find a way to have some success offensively.”
Following this game with Tennessee, the Tide will travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face Vanderbilt on Thursday Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. before returning home to host the Mississippi Rebels on Saturday Feb. 12 at 3 p.m.
