The Tennessee Volunteers (6-5) square off against the Tennessee State Tigers (9-3) at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game gets underway at 1:00 pm ET on Tuesday, Dec. 29 and will air on SEC and ES3.
The Volunteers were victorious over East Tennessee State 76-67 in their last game. Kevin Punter had 13 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for Tennessee. The Tigers, meanwhile, are coming off a 66-55 loss at the hands of Illinois State in their last outing. Christian Griggs-Williams accumulated 12 points, six rebounds, and two steals.
Tennessee is a considerable 12-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 142 points. The Volunteers look to build on their records of 6-5 Straight Up (SU) and 7-3 Against The Spread (ATS). Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Tennessee, which ranks 40th at 1.39. As for the Tennessee defense, teams really have to fight for open three-pointers against the Volunteers, who have one of the best opponent three-point field goal percentages in the nation at .302. An area where the Volunteers are particularly strong is shot blocking, where they average 6.3 blocks per game, eighth in Division I.
On the other side, the Tigers haven’t fared well ATS, sitting at 0-2-1. However, they are 9-3 SU.
This is the first meeting of the season for Tennessee and Tennessee State. The last time they played, Tennessee came out on top, bringing its SU record to 3-0 over the Tigers. However, Tennessee State leads the matchup ATS with a record of 2-0-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – Tenn, ATS Winner – Tenn, O/U – Over
Notes
Tennessee is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games.
The Tennessee Volunteers average 80.0 points per game, ranking 63rd in the nation. The Tennessee State Tigers rank 93rd in points allowed with 66.6.
The Tennessee Volunteers rank 91st for their offensive rating of 110.3. The Tennessee State Tigers have a defensive rating of 95.1 (ranked 65th).
Tennessee has an average field goal percentage of 44.3%. Tennessee State is a winning 2-1 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Tennessee Volunteers and the Tennessee State Tigers both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Tennessee is 174th and 160th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Tennessee State ranks 203rd and 166th in these categories.
Tennessee ranks 40th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.39. Tennessee State is ranked lower at 310th with an A/TO of .80.
Tennessee ranks 94th in rebounds per game with 39.2 and Tennessee State ranks 70th with 39.8 rebounds per game.
On average, Tennessee makes 5.2 steals per game. Tennessee State has an outstanding 9-2 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
