With two of the first three games on the road, Tennessee's (8-5, 0-1) opening SEC schedule looked tricky enough before the Vols fell at home to Ole Miss on Wednesday night. That setback puts some added pressure on this weekend's trip to Alabama as the Vols look to avoid an 0-2 start in league play.

Alabama (8-6, 0-1) has had an up-and-down season of its own to this point and fell on the road in its own conference opener to Missouri, 84-68 on Tuesday.

With both teams winless in their first league game, Saturday's match-up could have a bit of added drama as no one will want to fall two games out of the race at this early stage. That sentiment could be felt even more keenly by the Vols, who are staring at a Tuesday night road trip to Rupp Arena.

To put an even finer point on it, this Alabama team looks beatable. The Crimson Tide is a disappointing 2-6 in its last eight games, a stretch that includes home losses to Dayton, Mercer and Tulane.


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