Tue Jan 29 10:28:12 2008

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Volunteers set to roll Tide in Tuscaloosa

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Tuscaloosa, AL (Sports Network) - The seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will try to avoid an upset this evening as they take on SEC foe Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Tennessee suffered its first league loss of the season last Tuesday against Kentucky, but the Vols bounced back strong with an 85-69 victory over Georgia on Saturday. They are now 17-2 overall and 4-1 in SEC action.

Alabama is a respectable 12-8 overall this season, but the team is just 1-4 in SEC play. On a positive note, the lone league win did come on Saturday in a 97-77 final over rival Auburn, halting a four-game skid for the Tide.

Alabama holds a 71-62 series lead over Tennessee, but the Vols beat the Tide in a 69-66 verdict in overtime last season.

Heading into the season, many college basketball fans and analysts considered Tennessee's Chris Lofton the best guard in the nation. To the surprise of everyone, including Lofton, he has shot the ball extremely poorly this year, but it appears that he may finally be on track. After scoring 22 points in the loss to Kentucky last week, Lofton poured in 27 points against Georgia on Saturday thanks to a 7-of-13 effort from three-point range. Tyler Smith, one of three Smiths in the starting lineup for Tennessee, managed 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds against the Bulldogs. Lofton is averaging 14.5 ppg this season to lead the team, and while his 36.9 percent shooting from the field is far from impressive, he has plenty of time left to improve that figure. JuJuan Smith is close behind with 13.9 ppg, and Tyler Smith is scoring 13.1 ppg. As for JP Prince, he provides 10.1 ppg off the bench for the Vols, who are putting up 84.5 ppg while limiting the opposition to 68.5 ppg.

While his team is off to a slow start in league play, Alabama's Richard Hendrix is certainly a solid candidate for SEC Player of the Year. The big man is scoring 19.4 ppg on 64.3 percent shooting from the floor, and he is ripping down 10.2 rpg to go along with 43 blocks. The scoring output would be even better for Hendrix if not for his 54 percent shooting from the foul line. Alonzo Gee is posting 15.9 ppg and 7.8 rpg, while Mykal Riley is scoring 13.3 ppg. Alabama is netting 76.8 ppg while allowing 72.2 ppg to the opposition. Hendrix racked up 20 points and eight rebounds to lead 'Bama to the victory over Auburn. Brandon Hollinger tallied 18 points, while both Gee and Rico Pickett scored 17 points. Riley added 16 points for the Tide, who connected on 53.7 percent of their field goal attempts and turned the ball over only four times.