Colgate vs. Tennessee Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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Charlie Grant
The Tennessee Volunteers were the top college hoops team according to the AP Poll at one point this season but they enter the NCAA Tournament with a No. 2-seed because of a shaky finish to the campaign. Current form might be the only edge for Patriot League champion Colgate. The Raiders come into the Big Dance riding an 11-game win streak.
Colgate (15) vs. Tennessee (2) NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
Colgate makes its return to the Tournament for the first time since 1996. This is just the third time in the program’s history it is going dancing. The Raiders got bounced in the first round as No. 16 seeds in ‘95 and ‘96.
The team is 8-3 against the spread during its winning run and 18-14-1 ATS on the season. The Raiders’ win total obliterates its previous single-season high of 19 set last year. Colgate won 24 of its 34 games, but went 0-4 straight up against major conference opponents.
The over is 20-12 in Colgate games with an over/under line this season. The Raiders have played over the total in eight of their last 10 contests.
Tennessee is coming off a 20-point loss to eventual SEC tourney champion Auburn in the quarterfinals. The Vols are 3-7 against the number in their last 10 games and 17-15-1 ATS on the campaign.
The Volunteers won 19 straight during the regular season and collected wins against big-name foes like Gonzaga, Louisville and Kentucky (twice), and they were the only team to win at Memphis.
Sports Interaction lists Tennessee as the eighth top favourite to win the NCAA Tournament at +1800. That means a $100 bet would earn you $1800 if the Vols cut down the nets in the championship game.
Colgate Raiders
The Patriot League doesn’t normally attract many highly-touted prospects, but Colgate has one on its roster. Rapolas Ivanauskas transferred from Northwestern after an injury-riddled freshman year. He was a top-100 recruit coming out of high school and he won the Patriot Conference Player of the Year award.
The 6-foot-10 Illinois-native is a versatile scorer who can score in the paint and from long distance. Ivanauskas is shooting 52.3 percent from the field, including 43.4 percent from deep.
He’s just one of many Colgate players who can stroke from 3-point land. The Raiders rank 13th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage (39.1%).
Tennessee Volunteers
Star upperclassmen are few and far between at major conference powers in college basketball. Tennessee has two of the best in Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield. Williams is a bruising junior capable of dominating in the paint. Schofield is built like a tank and has a bit of skill shooting from distance.
The Volunteers are eighth in the nation in scoring (82.8 points per game), but 256th in 3’s made per game (6.9).
