Spear and No. 15 Tennessee host No. 18 Alabama

By Canadian Press on February 19, 2025.

Alabama Crimson Tide (21-5, 8-4 SEC) at Tennessee Volunteers (19-6, 6-6 SEC)

Knoxville, Tennessee; Thursday, 6:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 15 Tennessee faces No. 18 Alabama after Jewel Spear scored 28 points in Tennessee’s 80-71 victory over the Ole Miss Rebels.

The Volunteers have gone 12-3 in home games. Tennessee averages 14.4 turnovers per game and is 16-4 when it wins the turnover battle.

The Crimson Tide are 8-4 against SEC opponents. Alabama ranks sixth in the SEC with 24.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Essence Cody averaging 4.7.

Tennessee averages 10.6 made 3-pointers per game, 5.6 more made shots than the 5.0 per game Alabama gives up. Alabama averages 8.8 more points per game (78.8) than Tennessee allows to opponents (70.0).

The Volunteers and Crimson Tide face off Thursday for the first time in SEC play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Talaysia Cooper is averaging 17 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 3.2 steals for the Volunteers. Spear is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Sarah Ashlee Barker is averaging 17 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals for the Crimson Tide. Aaliyah Nye is averaging 14 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Volunteers: 6-4, averaging 80.0 points, 35.5 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 8.4 steals and 3.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.8 points per game.

Crimson Tide: 6-4, averaging 72.0 points, 31.6 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 6.2 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press

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