Alabama will ride into a matchup with Tennessee coming off back-to-back road SEC wins against Mississippi State and Oklahoma, moving the team to 3-2 in SEC play.
Tennessee will travel to Tuscaloosa to face the Crimson Tide, coming off a home loss to Kentucky in a game the Volunteers controlled for the majority of the contest. The team has dropped to 2-3 in SEC play.
Guard Labaron Philon has been on a tear recently for Alabama, exploding for a career-high 32 points at Mississippi State. He followed that up with a 23-point performance at Oklahoma.
Head coach Nate Oats praised Philon for his performance against Mississippi State after being critical of his star guard after the Texas loss.
“He’s made big shots. He’s played well down the stretch,” Oats said. “To me, he’s a gamer.”
Philon is now averaging a team-high 22 PPG, which also ranks top 10 in the country.
The guard will be tested on Saturday night when he goes head-to-head against Tennessee senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who is having himself a great season as well. He has averaged 18.6 PPG and 5.6 APG thus far in his senior year campaign. He recently had 34 points and five made 3s in a win over Texas earlier this month.
While Gillespie has made strides on the court, he has also become a much more vocal leader on and off the court for his squad.
“It just feels like some guys are playing and not playing with a purpose,” Gillespie said.
To help Tennessee balance its attack, the Volunteers have received solid production from freshman forward Nate Ament. Ament is a former five-star prospect who stands at 6 feet, 10 inches tall and is averaging 15.4 PPG and 6.3 RPG.
Ament, who is a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, has been shooting the ball much better over the last month. He is coming off a 17-point outing where he shot 57% from the field in a Tennessee loss.
This could be a great task for both Alabama forwards Amari Allen and Aiden Sherrell to step up to. Oats must decide if he wants a more athletic forward in Allen, or more size guarding Ament with Sherrell.
Sherrell is coming off back-to-back 20-point outings at Mississippi State and Oklahoma, which were two of his best performances of the year.
“Our offense was 19 points better with him on the floor. He impacts the game on both sides of the floor really well,” Oats said.
If Alabama can continue to get production from a variety of sources, it could look to win three straight in SEC play, while Tennessee is looking to bounce back from a devastating home loss.
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