TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama basketball will be down a pair of starters in its rivalry matchup against Tennessee Saturday night. Starting shooting guard Aden Holloway and starting power forward Amari Allen are both out against the Vols according to the SEC Availability Report.
Holloway is one of two Alabama players averaging over 15 points per game this season and a key piece of one of the SEC’s best backcourts. The junior guard is averaging 17.7 points per game on 48.6% shooting from the field and 46.2% shooting from three-point range.
A true freshman, Allen brings Alabama some needed toughness at the wing spots and likely would have spent a large portion of the game guarding Nate Ament. The 6-foot-8, 205-pound freshman brings scoring two, averaging 11.7 points to go along with his team-best 7.8 rebounds per game.
Tennessee is down backup point guard Troy Henderson with a left shoulder injury. it’s the first game that Henderson has missed this season due to injury.
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Both Tennessee and Alabama were off during the midweek ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Tuscaloosa. It’s an important game for Tennessee (12-6, 2-3 SEC) who is looking to bounce back from its home loss against Kentucky with its first true road win of the season.
Alabama has also been a bit shaky in SEC play so far, entering the matchup 13-5 (3-2 SEC) but coming off road wins over Mississippi State and Oklahoma.Alabama is 4.5-point favorites over Tennessee according to the DraftKings Sportsbook with the over/under set at 166.5. KenPom predicts Alabama to earn an 85-80 victory. The Vols have won four straight in the rivalry series entering Saturday’s matchup.
Tipoff between Tennessee and Alabama is at 8:30 p.m. ET at Coleman Coliseum on Saturday night. Dave Neal and former Alabama forward Richard Hendrix are on the call for ESPN.
