The unranked Arkansas Razorbacks and ninth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers will both be looking to bounce back from their respective weekend losses when they square off in their SEC showdown on Wednesday. Can Arkansas get the big road upset or will Tennessee take care of business in their mid-week matchup? Let’s find out which team is offering the best value against their College Basketball odds in this contest.
College Basketball Predictions – Arkansas at No. 9 Tennessee
Why Bet On Arkansas
Arkansas won nine straight to start the season but got smacked around by 13th-ranked Missouri 81-68 on Saturday. JD Notae scored a team-high 19 points while Moses Moody added 18 points in the loss, but the Razorbacks missed a mind-boggling 22 layups as Missouri packed the paint with defenders. Arkansas was without big man Justin Smith and his 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds were sorely missed.
“Number one, you’ve got to run the floor hard and cut hard to get open,” head coach Eric Musselman said. “Those are two things I don’t think we’ve done the way we need to. I think every coach in the country talks about that. And we looked young tonight. We made plays on both sides of the ball that we just can’t make.”
The Razorbacks average a stupendous 88.5 points per game on 45.0 percent shooting from the field and 33.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Arkansas limits the opposition to 65.9 points per game on 38.5 percent shooting from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Why Bet On No. 7 Tennessee
Seventh-ranked Tennessee won its first seven games this season, but suffered its first loss of the season by falling to Alabama 71-63 on Saturday. The Vols got a team-high 16 points from Victor Bailey Jr. while Santiago Vescovi added 13 points in the loss, but Tennessee shot an ice-cold 31.8 percent from the field and 4-for-21 from three-point distance (19.0%).
“Offensively, we were terrible to start the game,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “We turned the ball over three times to start it … travel calls, falling over ourselves. Our offense was terrible. If we had taken care of the ball and made a couple of shots, we had a chance.”
Tennessee averages 77.6 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting from the field and 35.3 percent from beyond the arc. The Volunteers limit the opposition to a stunning 55.0 points per game to rank second nationally in points allowed. Tennessee limits the opposition to 37.0 percent shooting from the field and 29.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Arkansas Razorbacks (9-1) Vs Tennessee Volunteers (7-1)
- When: Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 at 7:00 PM ET
- Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN
- TV: ESPN2
- NCAAB Odds: TBD
Expert Analysis and Prediction
Arkansas has an elite offense, but Tennessee has been phenomenal defensively this season. The Razorbacks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against a team with a winning straight up record while Tennessee has gone 6-2 ATS in their last eight games. With the favorite and home team in this SEC rivalry going a perfect 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings, I like seventh-ranked Tennessee to get the hard-fought home win in this mid-week matchup. The Vols are looking for revenge for their 86-69 road loss against the Razorbacks last season and I believe they’ll get it in a thriller!
Pick: Tennessee 77 Arkansas 72
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