How to watch: Alabama basketball vs Tennessee in the SEC Tournament

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After a disappointing end to the regular season, Alabama basketball will look to hit the reset button this week during the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The No. 9 seed Crimson Tide (16-15, 8-10 in the SEC) will take on No. 8 seed Tennessee (17-14, 9-9) on Thursday at noon CT. Tennessee beat Alabama 69-68 in Tuscaloosa earlier this season. Here’s everything you need to know about Thursday’s game.

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Who: Alabama (16-15, 8-10 in the SEC) vs Tennessee (17-14, 9-9)

When: Noon CT, Thursday, March 12

Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tenn.

Watch: SEC Network (play-by-play: Mike Morgan; analyst: Jimmy Dykes; courtside: Marty Smith)

Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (play-by-play: Chris Stewart; analyst: Bryan Passink)

Kira Lewis Jr.: 6-foot-3, 165 pounds, sophomore

Stats: 18.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 5.2 apg, 45.9% FG, 36.6% 3-pt

Jaden Shackelford: 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, freshman

Stats: 15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.4 apg, 41.3% FG, 35.7% 3-pt

John Petty Jr.: 6-foot-5, 184 pounds, junior

Stats: 14.5 ppg., 6.6 rpg., 2.5 apg., 46.2% FG, 44.0% 3-pt

Herbert Jones: 6-foot-7, 205 pounds, junior Stats: 7.9 ppg., 6.4 rpg, 2.3 apg, 48.4% FG, 7.1% 3-pt

Javian Davis: 6-foot-9, 242 pounds, redshirt freshman

Stats: 6.0 ppg, 3.8, rpg, 0.5 apg, 59.4% FG, 25.0% 3-pt

Santiago Vescovi: 6-foot-3, 188 pounds, freshman

Stats: 10.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.7 apg, 37.3% FG, 36.0% 3-pt

Jordan Bowden: 6-foot-5, 193 pounds, senior

Stats: 13.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.7 apg, 38.3% FG, 28.7% 3-pt

Josiah-Jordan James: 6-foot-6, 208 pounds, freshman

Stats: 7.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 2.9 apg, 37.0% FG, 36.7% 3-pt

Yves Pons: 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, junior

Stats: 10.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 48.9% FG, 34.9% 3-pt

John Fulkerson: 6-foot-9, 212 pounds, redshirt junior

Stats: 13.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 61.2% FG

— Thursday's game will be played behind closed doors as the SEC announced Wednesday night that the remainder of this week's tournament will be conducted with only essential staff, limited family and credentialed media in attendance due to concerns over the coronavirus.

“In light of recent developments beyond our control related to the spread of the coronavirus, including a recommendation from the NCAA COVID-19 Advisory Panel, and after consultation with our member universities, we have made the difficult decision to hold the 2020 SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Nashville without spectators beginning with games of Thursday, March 12," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a release. "Effective immediately, the policy will also apply to other SEC Championship events and on-campus regular-season games scheduled through at least the end of March.

“After conferring with local and national health authorities, we remain confident in our ability to safeguard the health and well-being of our student-athletes, coaches and other staff who will be participating as well as the limited number of family members and media who will be in attendance at the tournament. We regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision has caused our fans, especially those who have already traveled to Nashville for the tournament.”

— The SEC announced Tuesday that it will not allow the media locker-room access during this week’s tournament. Instead, players will hold press conferences in “controlled auxiliary spaces.” In addition, the conference will sanitize the locker rooms with hospital-grade disinfectant before and after teams arrive. Game balls and benches will also be cleaned before and after every game.

While Alabama head coach Nate Oats plans to follow all necessary precautions in Nashville, he doesn’t seem too concerned about his players contracting the coronavirus this week. When asked about the topic Tuesday, he joked that he asked not to speak with the media before stating that he plans to do whatever administration and team trainer Clarke Holter instructs him to do.

“Any time anything comes up, flu bug… they do all that stuff,” he said. “I guess, pack a few more bottles of Purell or whatever… I’m doing whatever Clarke tells me to do. As the head coach, I don’t have a whole lot of say in any of that stuff.”

— Oats told reporters Wednesday that there is a chance Herbert Jones will play without a cast on his left wrist for the first time since fracturing it during the Jan. 29 game against LSU.

“We’re not sure. We’re going to see how it feels, maybe a heavy tape job,” Oats said via Al.com. “He’s not going to be a shooter but the more he can handle and pass and finish at the rim, the better we’re going to be. He’s gotten to be able to do that a lot better.”

— Alabama had four players recognized for SEC postseason awards this week as point guard Kira Lewis Jr. was named first-team All-SEC, while John Petty Jr. was named to the second team. Jaden Shackelford was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, while Herbert Jones was named to the SEC All-Defensive team.

“For those four guys to get rewarded with the awards they got is great, it’s good for the program,” Oats said Tuesday. "It’s good to see we've got some good players in here, and really, those are four of the guys that have kind of taken what we’re trying — Petty with playing a lot harder than he had, Kira and Shack being in the gym all the time, Herb kind of embracing the whole blue-collar thing. We’ve got some guys that are embracing what our culture’s trying to be around here.”

— With this year’s No. 9 seed, Alabama has been the No. 9 or No. 10 seed in the SEC Tournament in six of the last seven years. The Crimson Tide owns a 2-2 record as the No. 9 seed, including a thrilling run in 2018 when it defeated No. 8 seed Texas A&M on a buzzer-beater from Collin Sexton before taking down No. 1 seed Auburn.

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