The Tennessee Volunteers (+700 to win the national title) are still on top of the SEC standings, but they are on a precarious spot, as the Kentucky Wildcats and the LSU Tigers both have identical conference records as Rick Barnes’ team heading into a new week in college basketball. Will Tennessee bounce back from a loss and defeat the Ole Miss Rebels (+15,000) on the road? Or will the Rebels add more to the Vols’ struggles of late?
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Betting Preview for the Tennessee Volunteers vs. Ole Miss Rebels College Basketball Game on February 27, 2019
Where: The Pavilion at Ole Miss, Oxford
When: Wednesday, February 27, 2019, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Tennessee Volunteers (odds) vs. Ole Miss Rebels (odds) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (24-3 Overall / 12-2 Conference)
The Volunteers are suddenly looking shaky. After a scorching 19-game winning streak, the Vols have lost two of three games, including Saturday’s overtime defeat in Baton Rouge at the hands of the No. 13 LSU Tigers. The Tigers recently just lost to unranked Florida Gators, so the loss to LSU is going to be bad for Tennessee’s resume. Admiral Schofield paced the Vols in the LSU game with 27 games on 11-for-22 shooting, but his partner, Grant Williams, only had 18 points on an inefficient 5-for-14 shooting from the floor. Despite their recent troubles, the Volunteers should be good enough to beat an Ole Miss squad. Tennessee owns the best offense in the conference, one that is making 118.0 points per 100 possessions. The Vols should have extra chances with the ball against Ole Miss, as they are averaging 40.5 rebounds per game to 39.1 for the Rebels. On the season, Tennessee is seventh nationally with 83.6 points per game on 50.4 field goal percentage – second in Division I.
Tennessee is 8-2 straight up (SU) and 7-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last 10 games away from Knoxville.
Betting on the Ole Miss Rebels (19-8 Overall / 9-5 Conference)
It didn’t take the Rebels to get back in the win column. After seeing their four-game winning streak broken in a 79-64 road loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, the Rebels rebounded with a close 72-71 home win over the Georgia Bulldogs. That’s a nice morale-booster for Ole Miss ahead of an expected tough showdown with Tennessee this week. Although Ole Miss’ defense was evidently not up to snuff against Georgia, which shot a high 52.1 percent from the floor, the Rebels showed its defensive teeth in the form of the 19 turnovers they forced Georgia to commit. The Rebels made life for Georgia’s ball handlers difficult, as they had eight steals. They are going to need those fast hands to disrupt Tennessee’s passing game. The Vols are fourth in the nation with 19.2 assists per game, so Ole Miss needs to be focused on jamming Tennessee’s passing lanes. The Rebels are third-best in the SEC in forcing steals, per KenPom.
Mississippi, which averages 76.6 points per game on the season, is 3-2 ATS in its last five games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Tennessee wins, 80-73.
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