College basketball Vegas expert picks and predictions: Tennessee vs. Alabama

Two SEC teams with postseason aspirations meet Saturday evening when the Tennessee Volunteers travels to Alabama to take on the Crimson Tide. Tennessee is favored by two points, up half-a-point from the opening line. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 139, unchanged from the open.

Before you make any picks on this SEC showdown, you need to see what SportsLine college basketball expert Matt Norlander has to say.

When Alabama took on Auburn earlier in SEC play, Norlander jumped all over the Tide (+1.5) and called for the upset. The result: Alabama 76, Auburn 71 -- another cash for one of the nation's top college hoops analysts.

It's no surprise because Norlander is a award-winning writer for CBS Sports who has covered college basketball since 2007. From insightful features to weekly game analysis, Norlander covers the sport from every angle.

Now Norlander has studied every angle of Tennessee vs. Alabama and locked in a strong point-spread pick. He's sharing it at SportsLine.

Norlander knows that the Vols have been one of the hottest teams in the nation recently. Now ranked No. 15, Tennessee has won nine of its last 10, including a season-defining victory at Rupp Arena over Kentucky earlier this week.

The Vols are top 100 nationally in scoring, scoring defense and assists per game. Sophomore forward Grant Williams leads the way with an average of 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds.

But just because the Vols are playing extremely well right now doesn't mean that they'll be able to go on the road and knock off a talented Crimson Tide squad.

Alabama is 15-9 overall and 6-5 in conference play, but has arguably the best overall player in the SEC in guard Collin Sexton, who averages 18.6 points. He's an NBA talent and should be the best player on the floor in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

The Tide have been inconsistent this year, but while the Vols have a trip to the NCAA Tournament all but locked up, Alabama needs this win in a huge way. The Tide might be the more urgent team on the floor.

Norlander has evaluated all of these circumstances and found a strong trend that should lead to one of these sides covering the spread. You can only see what that is over at SportsLine.

So which side do you need to be all over in Tennessee vs. Alabama? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of Tennessee-Alabama prevails, and what the strong trend in this matchup is, all from one of the nation's top college basketball analysts.