Even when it looked like Alabama basketball was bound for a down night on offense, it spit out another 100-point outing.

Not even a slow start could prevent that. After the Crimson Tide managed 39 first-half points against Ole Miss, No. 13 Alabama still wound up with a 103-88 victory on Wednesday.

It has become straight up ridiculous how good this offense is. This is no fluke. What began as a nice stat (three 100 point games) to open the season against lesser opponents at home has reached a historic stratosphere. Alabama has rattled off not three but nine games with 100 or more points this season. Nine. That ties Kentucky (1995-96) for the most in one season in SEC history.

Will Alabama get No. 10 in its next game? Probably not, considering No. 4 Tennessee (22-6, 12-3 SEC) is coming to town to battle it out for most likely the SEC regular season championship.

The Crimson Tide (20-8, 12-3) might not score 100 again, but it has the offense to beat the Vols. Especially in Tuscaloosa. The question is whether the defense can do enough to hold off Tennessee on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN). If it puts together a far-too-common performance littered with inconsistency, the defense could be the thing that keeps Alabama from winning back-to-back SEC regular-season titles.

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Defensive lapses haven't always cost Alabama wins, but too many of them on Saturday likely would against a team as good as Tennessee.

There is some reason for optimism after the Ole Miss game, though. Alabama mixed some solid defensive play into the middle of the game. Those middle-section stops proved to be enough for Alabama to climb back into the game after being down 14. Then more stops allowed the Crimson Tide to build a lead in the second half.

"It was a lot better tonight for that middle 20 minutes," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "We need it to be much better for the whole 40 on Saturday. I think this gave us some ... we see we can do this."

Evidence of that is vital for Alabama's confidence considering how poor things have gone for the defense at times this season. Look no farther than the 117 points surrendered to Kentucky this past Saturday.

Facing Tennessee's offense at home won't be as much of a challenge as facing the Wildcats on the road. That's the good news. The bad news for Alabama is the Vols are pretty darn good on offense, too. Tennessee ranks No. 17 in offensive efficiency, per KenPom. Ole Miss, for reference, is now No. 38.

"Tennessee is a little bit better offensive team," Oats said. "We’re going to have to be much better. We can do it. We’re just going to have to really come out and guard. But if we do get down, we can get some stops and our offense can get us back in the game. As long as our defense can get some stops."

That's a big "if" for an Alabama team ranked No. 99 in defense. But the win over the Rebels proved it can happen.

The Crimson Tide has the offense to go toe-to-toe with Tennessee's No. 3 ranked defense. Whether the Alabama defense will do the same remains to be seen. The Crimson Tide isn't about to become a shut-down group, but maybe, just maybe it can get enough stops to slow Tennessee and let the 100-point machine go to work.

Winning the SEC depends on it.

Nick Kelly is the Alabama beat writer for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network, and he covers Alabama football and men's basketball. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama basketball can beat Tennessee, but this could get in the way