Vanderbilt @ Alabama preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 22, 2020 ) Alabama 77, Vanderbilt 62

Alabama survived a critical conference affair over the weekend and will remain in must-win mode when it plays its home finale Tuesday night against last-place Vanderbilt in SEC action. The Crimson Tide sit outside the field of 68 in most NCAA Tournament predictions, but they remained in the discussion with Saturday's 90-86 win over South Carolina.

"We could have easily folded, especially knowing we had built-in excuses as to why we could lose this with injuries," Alabama coach Nate Oats, who was without standout guard John Petty Jr. (elbow), told reporters. "Our guys fought back and showed a ton of character and resiliency. It's a big win." Freshman forward Javian Davis filled the void with career highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds as Alabama moved to within a game of the sixth-place Gamecocks in the SEC. At the bottom of the league sit the Commodores, losers of seven in a row following Saturday's 86-60 setback at Ole Miss. Sophomore forward Ejike Obinna scored a season-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting for Vanderbilt, but his teammates shot 30.2 percent from the floor as the squad matched its largest loss of the season.

TIME: 8:30 p.m. ET. TV: SEC Network

ABOUT VANDERBILT (9-20, 1-15 SEC): While injuries and losses have piled up, coach Jerry Stackhouse has tried to keep his team focused on getting better every day, but Saturday's loss was a demoralizing one. "It was just one of those days, I guess, where everything that could go wrong did go wrong," he told reporters. "Even though we haven't been winning games, we've been doing things well. Today was one of the first games where I thought we didn't get better." The Commodores' road losing streak in conference play stands at 17 games and they have lost three in a row against Alabama, including a 77-62 defeat Jan. 22 at home.

ABOUT ALABAMA (16-13, 8-8): Sophomore guard Kira Lewis Jr. scored 25 points in Saturday's win to boost his average to 18.1 - fourth in the SEC. Freshman guard Jaden Shackelford chipped in 18 points in the win and he averages 15 per contest, tied for second on the team with Petty, who leads the way on the glass (6.6). Junior forward Herbert Jones contributed 10 points and nine rebounds while playing all 40 minutes against the Gamecocks after being held scoreless in a loss at Mississippi State last Tuesday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Commodores junior G Saben Lee leads his team and ranks fifth in the SEC in scoring (17.5).

2. Crimson Tide junior F Alex Reese reached double digits in rebounds Saturday for the first time in his 89-game career.

3. Petty had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the earlier win at Vanderbilt.

PREDICTION: Alabama 85, Vanderbilt 69