Texas (7) vs. Tennessee (2) Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
It’s an NCAA Tournament Second Round matchup on Saturday night at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
A date with the Peacocks proved to be a tonic for the Vols, who entered this year’s edition of March Madness on a two-game losing streak. Tennessee now faces the challenge of duplicating its success of a year ago, when the squad made it past the Second Round for the first time in 15 years, reaching the Elite Eight. The Longhorns turned in an impressive defensive performance while bouncing the Colorado State Rams 56-44, and will be making their third Second Round appearance in as many years on Saturday night.
Energized by their win over Saint Peter’s, the Volunteers have emerged as 6.5-point favourites on the Second Round odds, while the total is pegged at 146.5.
Texas vs. Tennessee NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The Volunteers got back into the win column while scoring 80 or more points for the ninth time in 13 games. However, it has been a shutdown defence that makes this team so dangerous. Tennessee ranks third in adjusted defensive efficiency at KenPom and with Thursday’s win has now held opponents to fewer than 60 points in four of nine outings. However, the Volunteers have produced mixed results in recent dates with Texas, losing two of three while averaging 70.3 points per game.
The Longhorns have struggled to find consistency of late, tallying consecutive wins just once during a 7-7 SU and ATS run. However, Thursday’s solid defensive performance while limited the Rams to just 29.3% from the field is certainly welcome after allowing 83.7 points per game during a preceding 1-2 run. The challenge now for the Longhorns to flip the script on a dismal 1-9 SU run as March Madness underdogs that features a trio of outright defeats in the Second Round.
Texas Longhorns
While the Longhorns shut down the rams on Thursday night, they didn’t help their own effort by shooting just 40% from the field and a meagre 7.1% on three-point attempts. Leading scorers Man Abmas and Dulan Disu each contributed 12 points while sophomore Chendall Weaver came off the bench to score 11 and has now reached double digits in five of his past six appearance when playing at least 20 minutes.
Tennessee Volunteers
The Volunteers led by as many as 33 points after the break before shifting into cruise control on Thursday night. Apart their recent struggles, the Vols have regularly started strong, scoring at least 39 first-half points six times during their current 8-2 run. Leading scorer Dalton Knecht turned in another steady performance, dropping a team-high 23 points while Zakai Zeigler put his playmaking skills on display with 10 assists and has averaged 7.9 helpers over his past eight games.
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TENN