The Tennessee Volunteers’ run as the No. 1 team in the nation began to fall fast after a tough loss to the Kentucky Wildcats and a less than stellar performance against Vanderbilt on Tuesday. Now they sit at 5th as they head into the weekend. Nevertheless, Tennessee is still considered among the top dogs in the nation, with odds of +700 to take the national title to Knoxville. The 13th ranked LSU Tigers are not a too shabby team either, and a win over the Vols this coming weekend could shorten their current odds of +8,000 to be the last team standing in the Big Dance.
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Betting Preview for the Tennessee Volunteers vs. LSU Tigers College Basketball Game on February 23, 2019
Where: Carver Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City
When: Saturday, February 23, 2019, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Tennessee Volunteers (odds) vs. LSU Tigers (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (24-2 Overall / 12-1 Conference)
The expectation that the Duke Blue Devils would displace the Volunteers atop the Top 25 AP Poll after Tennessee got beat in Lexington by the Kentucky Wildcats over the weekend came to fruition, and then some. It was the first loss in 20 games for the Vols, whose 19-game winning streak remains an incredible feat for a college team this season. Tennessee’s bland defense doomed the Vols in the Kentucky game. The Volunteers could not keep in step with Kentucky, which repeatedly got to the free throw line, thanks to Tennessee’s 25 fouls to just 15 by the Wildcats. Tennessee’s offense also suffered in that game, with Grant Williams and company making just 40.7 of their field goal attempts.
It would be unfair to judge Tennessee based on just one bad game. After all, they built that aforementioned lengthy unbeaten streak on the strength of their offense that ranks fifth in the nation with 84.7 points per game average and second overall with a 50.8 field goal shooting percentage. However, while they won against Vanderbilt (9-17 record) it was an abysmal showing, hitting just 4 of 11 from behind the arc, and finished just 41.1 percent from the field in the low scoring 58-46 affair. Just don’t credit Tennessee’s defense for the win, as Vanderbilt simply couldn’t knock down a shot, missing easy ones and ending the night at 32.4 percent from the field. Tennessee will have to return to form from over a week ago if they expect to beat a hot LSU.
Tennessee is 6-3 straight up (SU) and 6-2 against the spread (ATS) in road games this season.
Betting on the LSU Tigers (21-4 Overall / 11-1 Conference)
LSU is on a winning binge again. After getting upset by the Arkansas Razorbacks in Baton Rouge earlier this month, Tremont Waters and company have stitched together four-straight wins. Among their victims over that stretch were Kentucky and the Georgia Bulldogs, whom the Tigers thumped last Saturday, 83-79. The Tigers’ offense showed up again in the Georgia game, as they made 55.6 percent of their shots from the field. Waters flashed his brilliance anew by leading his team with 20 points to go with five assists and a pair of steals in 32 minutes of floor duty. Waters is the engine that makes LSU run and is the has a shot at winning the SEC Player of the Year. Waters is averaging 15.9 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per contest. He is also a big reason for the Tigers’ frenetic defense that forces opposing teams to panic. Waters leads the SEC and is third in the nation in steals with 3.1 swipes per game. As a team, LSU is ninth in the nation with 82.9 points per game on 47.2 field goal shooting percentage.
LSU is 5-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last eight home games against Tennessee.
Writer’s Prediction
Tennessee squeaks out another win, 81-80.
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