Sometimes in life, things have to be proven more than once.
Such is the case this weekend for the Tennessee men's basketball team.
The Volunteers held Alabama to its lowest point total of the season on Jan. 20, when they overwhelmed the Crimson Tide 91-71 inside the Food City Center. Round two takes place Saturday in Tuscaloosa (8 p.m. Eastern on ESPN), with Alabama having averaged an eye-popping 101 points in its last five games to increase its nation-leading clip to 91.5 per contest.
"They're a lot better," Tennessee assistant coach Gregg Polinsky said Friday afternoon in a news conference. "They were really good when they came here, and we played exceptionally well that day. The turnaround we had between games against Texas A&M was really quick, but Alabama has been a pretty good gap, so that team has evolved and developed.
"KenPom, which is a high-end analytics, has Alabama as the No. 2 offensive efficiency team in terms of rating of all time, not just this year. What they've done is to be noted and respected."
The first meeting between the two was the fifth Southeastern Conference game for each team. The stakes are a bit higher this time around, as the No. 4 Vols (22-6 overall) and the No. 14 Crimson Tide (20-8) share the league lead with 12-3 records with three conference contests remaining for each.
Tennessee has a trip to South Carolina and a home date with Kentucky to close out its regular season, while Alabama has to travel to Florida before hosting Arkansas.
"This is not for the SEC championship," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said Friday, "but it's going to go a long way in determining who the SEC champion is in the regular season."
There is also the race for SEC player of the year. Tennessee fifth-year senior guard Dalton Knecht leads the league with 20.8 points per game, with his 39-point outburst in Wednesday night's 92-84 comeback win over Auburn enabling him to overtake the 20.6-point average of Alabama senior guard Mark Sears.
Topping matters is a visit from ESPN's "College GameDay" show, which is a frequent visitor to Tuscaloosa for football games but is making a first trip to Coleman Coliseum.
"We know it's going to be jumping in there," Vols junior point guard Zakai Zeigler said moments after the Auburn game ended.
Alabama shot only 4-of-21 from 3-point range against the Vols in Knoxville. Tennessee also forced 22 turnovers, with Sears committing seven of them, and Vols junior guard and defensive specialist Jahmai Mashack hopes Sears can be rattled again.
"It's definitely exciting for me," Mashack said Friday. "I always want to play the best, and he's obviously had a season that's been really good so far. He's a very poised player and a very confident guy, but everybody is human."
Sears and the Alabama attack will be going up against a Tennessee defense that ranks third nationally in field-goal defense, allowing opponents to shoot just 38.3% from the floor.
Tennessee's romp over the Crimson Tide six weeks ago was arguably its most impressive triumph this season. Now the Vols have the task of doing it again, with this one on the road and with more on the line.
"Does defense travel? We think it does," Polinsky said, "but obviously the energy you get playing at the Food City Center is tremendous. The roar of the crowd down the stretch in this last game was big-time. The crowd would not allow us to lose that game. We'll just have to bow up, because I'm sure it will be a very vibrant and hostile environment.
"This is a great opportunity to see what and where you are from a mentality standpoint and from a maturity standpoint, because Alabama came from 16 down at Georgia, and Ole Miss the other night had them down 37-23. They don't worry about it. You talk about lightning bolts. They've got a bunch of them."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.