Alabama vs Tennessee Odds, Predictions & Picks (NCAAW, Feb 20)

• No. 18 Alabama travels to No. 15 Tennessee Thursday for a top 25 SEC women’s basketball clash
• Alabama enters on a five-game win streak, while the Lady Vols have won four of five
• Below, see the Alabama vs Tennessee odds, predictions, and picks on Feb. 20

No. 18 Alabama (21-5 overall, 8-4 SEC) will take its five-game win streak into Knoxville on Thursday night as it looks to upend No. 15 Tennessee (19-6, 6-6) in SEC women’s basketball action. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 pm ET on SEC Network and the Lady Vols are sizable favorites in the Alabama vs Tennessee odds.

Alabama vs Tennessee Odds

Tennessee is a 7-point favorite in this SEC matchup, and listed at -320 on the moneyline. Alabama pays +250 as a moneyline underdog, while the total is at a robust 155.5.

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Alabama may have the better SEC record heading into this one, but the Lady Vols have drawn a much tougher schedule to this point. Five of their six losses have come against a team ranked in the top 10 at the time. The other came at Vanderbilt, which, while unranked, has a win over Alabama as well.

The 6-6 record following a 13-0 start would be more concerning for Tennessee if not for that schedule. Also helping is a Feb. 6 victory against UConn, which just thrashed defending champion South Carolina over the weekend.

While the record has dipped over a tough stretch, the Lady Vols’ offense has not. They’re ranked seventh in offensive efficiency by Bart Torvik, and outside of a two-game blip against South Carolina and Missouri, they’ve been incredibly consistent throughout the season.

They’re led by Talaysia Cooper, who is shooting better than 50% from the field and averaging 17 points per game. She’s one of five Lady Vols averaging double figures in scoring.

Alabama still has a shot at the double bye in the SEC Tournament, as its one game behind Kentucky for fourth place in the league standings. A closing four-game stretch that starts tonight at Tennessee and finishes with No. 7 LSU and No. 16 Oklahoma, however, will make getting to fourth quite difficult.

The Crimson Tide have faced four ranked teams this season, with their biggest win coming against Michigan State on a neutral floor in December. Getting to late February in this SEC with playing just three ranked opponents is a bit of a miracle. One of those ranked games wound up being a 44-point loss against Texas.

Alabama vs Tennessee Prediction & Picks

This one really feels like a situation where the conference standings are lying to you. Like, a bold-faced lie.

You could make the argument that Alabama’s leading scorer Sarah Ashlee Barker missed the Texas and South Carolina games, but that would be a poor argument. She played against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, two far lesser teams, and the Tide lost both those games. And she played really, really well in those games, scoring 36 and 22 points, respectively, well above her season average of 17.

From a distance, these teams look very even. Not only are their records close, but their offensive and defensive efficiency rankings are also fairly close (Tennessee 7 offense, 31 defense; Alabama 17 offense, 21 defense).

But Tennessee is just a much more tested team, and has the bigger wins, hence the higher ranking with a worse record.

If you’re looking for an efficiency metric to bolster your pick, consider this: Tennessee is sixth in the country in offensive rebounding efficiency, while Alabama is 188th on the defensive boards. That could lead to a lot of second-chance points from what’s already a great offense.

Alabama vs Tennessee Picks:

• Tennessee -7 (-110)
• Over 155.5 (-110)