Bama Basketball Breakdown: Tennessee

Alabama hosts their rivals from Rocky TopAfter a tough week full of hard-fought losses to long-time rivals, the Crimson Tide will look to reverse that trend against the Tennessee Volunteers (10-9, 3-4 SEC) on Tuesday night. The Tennessee basketball program is in a similar situation as Alabama, as they are also a team in transition trying to adjust to their new, heralded head coach, Rick Barnes. It's been a roller coaster ride for the Tennessee basketball program ever since Bruce Pearl was forced out. The Vols were constant under-achievers under Cuonzo Martin until they finally put it together in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, when they made a surprising run to the Sweet Sixteen. Martin then left abruptly himself, and Tennessee took a risk in hiring the up-and-comer Donnie Tyndall. Tyndall was then fired after only one season in Knoxville, as NCAA violations from his time in Hattiesburg with Southern Miss came to light. With so much instability around the program, the Vols really hit a home-run with Barnes. He will be able to stabilize this program for years to come, and his first team is really starting to find their stride.

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