For the third time this season, the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats will meet on the court – this time in a semifinals matchup in the SEC Tournament. The Vols won the last meeting, but Kentucky is a known performer in the postseason. Tennessee is +1,100 to win the national title, while Kentucky is +1,000 to be the last team standing in the Big Dance.
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Betting Preview for the Tennessee Volunteers vs. Kentucky Wildcats College Basketball Game on March 16, 2019
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville
When: Saturday, March 16, 2019, 3:00 PM ET
Line: Tennessee Volunteers (odds) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (28-4 Overall / 15-3 Conference)
Tennessee made a big statement to open up its SEC Tournament campaign on Friday, as Admiral Schofield and company blasted the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 83-76. Schofield showed how locked in he is in the tourney by leading his team with 20 points and seven rebounds. He shot 9-for-12 from the field. Meanwhile, SEC leading scorer Grant Williams chipped in 16 points. As a team, the Vols shot 51.5 percent from the field. Tennessee has split the two meetings with Kentucky this season. The Vols lost in the first one in Lexington, 69-86, in February, then avenged that loss with a 71-52 win in Knoxville on Mar. 2. Tennessee won at home against the Wildcats despite Schofield coughing up just seven points on a salty 3-for-13 shooting, though, Williams was up to his scoring ways, finishing the contest with 24 points, while Jordan Bone got away with 27. Bone could be the x-factor for Tennessee. Williams and Schofield will always get the focus, so Bone should take advantage whenever the Kentucky’s defense collapses. He also had 19 points in the loss to Kentucky.
Tennessee is 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last four games.
Betting on the Kentucky Wildcats (27-5 Overall / 15-3 Conference)
Kentucky made sure that the Alabama Crimson Tide realize that there’s no football in March, as the Wildcats defeated ‘Bama 73-55 on Friday to advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals. Kentucky flexed its muscle on both ends of the floor against the Crimson Tide. The Wildcats shot 47.5 percent from the field, with Tyler Herro leading them with his 20 points, while PJ Washington posted a double-double line of 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Wildcats outrebounded Alabama, 42-32, and rejected 11 shots. The defensive dominance in the paint in that game for Kentucky sends a strong message to Tennessee, which is ninth in the nation in two-point shooting percentage. Preventing Tennessee’s close-range game will be a big key for the Wildcats, as the Volunteers shot .500 inside the arc in the first meeting and .475 in the second. Speaking of Herro, he and Keldon Johnson will have to click. The backcourt tandem only had 13 points in the loss to Kentucky earlier this month.
The under is 8-2 in Kentucky’s last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
Tennessee wins, 75-72.
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