No.4 Tennessee can clinch the SEC regular-season title and the top seed in next week’s conference tournament with a win at No. 17 South Carolina on Wednesday, but the Gamecocks still can at least share the crown with an upset.
2024 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis #4 Tennessee vs #17 South Carolina | MyBookie Sportsbook Week 18 NCAAB
How to Bet Tennessee at South Carolina NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info
When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
Where: Colonial Life Arena
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Tennessee -2.5 (total 73.5)
#4 Tennessee vs #17 South Carolina Last Meeting
It’s almost impossible to win in Knoxville these days as Tennessee is so good, but South Carolina won there 63-59 on Jan. 30 when it was unranked and UT was No. 5. Ta’Lon Cooper hit a critical 3-pointer with 40 seconds left and scored 18 points, and B.J. Mack added 16 points for the Gamecocks. Dalton Knecht scored 12 points in the final three minutes and finished with 31 points, and Santiago Vescovi added 10 points for the Volunteers. “(South Carolina) scored 63,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said, noting his team missed 10 layups and was 10-for-12 from the free-throw line. “Our goal is to keep our opponent under 69. We were not a very good offensive team.” Even with that loss, UT 10-2 in its last 12 matchups with South Carolina.
Why Bet on Tennessee Volunteers?
The No. 4 Vols (22-6, 13-3 SEC) are poised to clinch their first outright SEC regular season crown since the 2007-2008 season following their sixth straight win Saturday, 81-74 at No. 14 Alabama to knock the Tide out of first. The Tide used a 29-12 run that spanned halftime that turned a 39-29 UA deficit into a 58-51 lead with 13:42 remaining.
Tennessee Last 5
| @ Alabama – W81-74 |
| vs Auburn – W92-84 |
| vs Texas A&M – W86-51 |
| @ Missouri – W72-67 |
| vs Vanderbilt – W88-53 |
However, Tennessee’s Jonas Aidoo would score six points during the game-changing run that gave the Vols a 65-62 lead with just under six minutes remaining. The Tide cut the lead to one point, 70-69, at the 2:48 mark but would not be able to regain the lead down the stretch. The loss snapped the Crimson Tide’s 16-game home winning streak vs. SEC teams.
After allowing the Crimson Tide to start 6-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-4 beyond the arc, in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second half, Tennessee held their opponent to a 3-of-21 mark from the floor. Alabama, KenPom’s top-ranked offense in the country, missed all 13 of its 3-point attempts during that time against the stingy Tennessee defense.
UT’s Zakai Zeigler scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half and co-paced Tennessee with four assists in the game. Star Dalton Knecht tallied 13 points, his second-lowest total in SEC play, as he battled foul trouble, but hit a key jump-shot with 2:30 left to triple the lead. Knecht is the fifth SEC player in the last 19 years (2005-24) to record 13-plus points in at least 15 straight league games in a single campaign, joining Kentucky‘s Antonio Reeves (2023-24), Vanderbilt‘s John Jenkins (2011-12), Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks (2008-09) and LSU‘s Glen Davis (2005-06).
Aidoo, who played only 23 minutes after committing two fouls in the first five minutes of the contest, finished with 12 points—all but two came in the second half—and seven rebounds. Josiah-Jordan James, who tipped out a missed free throw in the closing seconds leading to Zeigler’s game-clinching shots at the line, totaled 11 points and a season-best 13 rebounds, one shy of his career high, to lead all players.
The Volunteers have now won back-to-back games over AP top-15 foes — with no other outings in between — for the first time in over 24 years, as they last did so on Jan. 18/25, 2000, when they won at ninth-ranked Florida, 81-79, in double-overtime and then beat seventh-ranked Auburn, 105-76, both while ranked in the top 20.
Tennessee is the first SEC team to beat AP top-15 teams in back-to-back contests since Texas A&M did so on March 11/22, 2022, in the SEC Tournament, the first to do so in the regular season since Alabama on Dec. 4/11, 2021 and the first to do so in league play since Ole Miss on Jan. 9/12, 2019. Tennessee improved to 26-20 (.565) in AP top-25 matchups under Rick Barnes, including 20-13 (.606) with both teams in the top 20 and 12-7 (.632) with each in the top 15.
Knecht was named the SEC Player of the Week on Monday for the fourth time this season. Since the award’s inception in 1984-85, Knecht is the first Volunteer to win four SEC Player of the Week accolades in a single campaign. Only five others—Allan Houston, Chris Lofton (seven), Dyron Nix (five), Jarnell Stokes and Grant Williams—have that many in a full Tennessee career. In addition, Knecht is the first player from any school to win four SEC Player of the Week plaudits in a season since Arkansas’ Mason Jones in 2019-20.
This is the third week in a row the Volunteers are ranked in the top five of the AP Top 25. It is the third time in program history, joining an 11-week run in 2018-19 and a six-week stretch in 2007-08, that has happened. Two of the three occurrences have come in the past six seasons under Barnes.
Bet Tennessee to Win
College Basketball Vegas Odds
| Week 18 Online College Basketball Betting Odds Subject to Change | SPREAD | MONEYLINE | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #17 South Carolina | +2.5 | +135 | U 73.5 |
| #4 Tennessee | -2.5 | -170 | O 73.5 |
Why Bet on South Carolina Gamecocks?
No. 17 South Carolina was picked to finish last in the SEC yet could still share the title with Lamont Paris as a top candidate for not just SEC Coach of the Year but National Coach of the Year. The Gamecocks (24-5, 12-4 SEC) won their third game in a row Saturday, 82-76 over No. 24 Florida.
South Carolina Last 5
| vs Florida – W82-76 |
| @ Texas A&M – W70-68 |
| @ Ole Miss – W72-59 |
| vs LSU – L64-63 |
| @ Auburn – L101-61 |
“Lots of doubts around these guys. I knew what we had, I knew what our guys were about,” said Paris, who went 11-21 his first season a year ago. “I knew we had winning guys, who wanted to win.”
South Carolina erased a nine-point deficit over the final 11:29 of regulation vs. UF to secure their 12th SEC victory of the season. The Gamecocks forced eight turnovers out of the 1-3-1 defense and shot 53.3 percent (8-for-15) over the final 11:29 of play.
Meechie Johnson led the way with 21 of his 25 points in the final 20 minutes. He also had two critical steals as Florida tried to regain the lead. Johnson had three tie-breaking shots in the final five minutes, including his 3-pointer that put the Gamecocks ahead for good with 43.4 seconds left. It was the 13th time that Johnson has led the Gamecocks in scoring. Carolina improved to 10-3 over the last two seasons when Johnson scores 20 or more.
Freshman forward Collin Murray-Boyles collected his first career double-double scoring 15 points, adding 11 rebounds. It marks back-to-back games where he has secured 10 or more rebounds, and he recorded a new career-high nine made free throws shooting 90.0 percent (9-for-10) at the charity stripe. Over his last eight games, Murray-Boyles is averaging 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He’s 53-of-77 from the floor (68.8 percent) and 24-of-28 at the free throw line (85.7 percent).
Guard Jacobi Wright had 16 critical points (12 in the first half) including four triples. Carolina improved to 8-0 in games this season when he scores 10 or more. Guard Ta’Lon Cooper led South Carolina in passing for the 20th game this season, dishing out four helpers. Cooper entered 8th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.51:1) and fourth in the SEC in assists per game averaging (4.4) per contest. Cooper added 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting, knocking down three triples.
Carolina has had 13 single-digit turnover games this season which sets a new program record since joining the SEC in 1991-92. The 2007-08 team had 12 games with single-digit giveaways, which was the most by a Gamecock team prior.
USC is now 15-3 in games decided by 10 or less points this season with the only losses at No. 24/20 Clemson, vs. Georgia on Jan. 16 and vs. LSU on Feb. 17. Carolina has 12 SEC wins, which ties the 2016-17 team for the second most SEC wins all-time at Carolina. This year marks the eighth time the Gamecocks have won 10 or more SEC games.
“We kept saying, as you stack these things together, ultimately there’ll be a bigger prize, and the immediate bigger prize was an invitation to the NCAA Tournament,” Paris said. “That was the short term, long term prize. And having continued to do things … the other one now is that you’re looking in the face of a potential SEC regular season championship.”
This is the latest in the season the Gamecocks have been ranked since being slotted No. 14 in the final AP Poll of the 1997-98 season (March 9, 2018).
Bet South Carolina to Win
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
#4 Tennessee vs #17 South Carolina Expert Prediction
Tennessee 71, South Carolina 67
NCAA Basketball Odds to Win Championship – Top 10
| UConn Huskies +500 | Houston Cougars +670 |
| Purdue Boilermakers +710 | Arizona Wildcats +1200 |
| Tennessee Volunteers +1225 | North Carolina Tar Heels +2000 |
| Auburn Tigers +2100 | Iowa State Cyclones +2200 |
| Marquette Golden Eagles +2300 | Duke Blue Devils +2400 |
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2024 South Carolina vs #5 Tennessee
January 30, 2024
The first ranked team in action on a busy Tuesday around college basketball is No. 5 Tennessee as the Vols host South Carolina in SEC action with UT as a heavy favorite on the NCAAB odds. Both are among the best defensive teams in the SEC. 2024 NCAA Basketball Betting & Expert Analysis South Carolina vs #5 Tennessee | MyBookie Sportsbook Week 13 NCAAB
How to Bet South Carolina at Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info
When: Tuesday, 6:30 PM ET
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena
TV: SEC Network
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAB Lines: Tennessee -14.5 (total 136.5)
Series History
Tennessee leads the all-time series 52-28 and is 31-9 at home. The Gamecocks are seeking their first win in Knoxville since January 2017. The Vols have won 10 of the last 11 games in the series overall. Both last season were in blowout fashion, but this South Carolina team is way better than that one.
Why Bet on South Carolina Gamecocks?
South Carolina (17-3, 5-2 SEC) has been a huge surprise so far with just three losses on the season and enters on a three-game winning streak following a 72-64 victory over Missouri on Saturday. Mizzou scored the first 11 points of the second half in just over three minutes of action for a 40-39 lead. Nick Honor connected on a fastbreak triple to pull MU within one before Tamar Bates added two more points on the break for the one-point edge.
The schools would battle for the next couple of minutes before South Carolina broke a 46-46 tie with a 7-0 run. The Tigers would only be as close as four the rest of the way, missing a pair of layups with under two minutes left to pull within a single possession, as South Carolina secured the 72-64 victory. Missouri finished with a 47.1 field goal percentage but made just two of eight 3-point attempts. South Carolina, meanwhile, was held to 44.2 percent shooting but took advantage beyond the arc with a 10-of-25 clip.
B.J. Mack scored 21 points to lead USC, hitting 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 2-of-5 from distance, as well as 7-of-11 from the free throw line. Mack has scored in double-figures in four of his last five games and Saturday marked his sixth game of the season leading the team in scoring. The team is 4-0 this season when he scores 20 or more points this season.
Ta’Lon Cooper added 12 points and four assists. Cooper entered sixth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio 4.10:1 and third in the SEC in assists averaging 4.3 per game. He had three turnovers, tying a season high. Cooper entered Saturday with 15 games this season with one or no turnovers.
The Gamecock defense forced 12 Missouri turnovers and held the Tigers to just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc. Carolina entered today first in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 64.5 points per game. With the win, the Gamecocks improve to 14-0 on the season when scoring 70 or more points. The victory marks the ninth 5-2 start or better in SEC action for the Gamecocks since joining the conference in 1991-92. The win also marks the first 17-3 or better start for South Carolina since the 2015-16 season when the team started the year 19-3.
USC’s Myles Stute (shoulder) will be available for Tuesday’s game against Tennessee, per Coach Lamont Paris. Stute 9.9 PPG and 3.9 RPG but hasn’t played since Jan. 16. Paris on Stute: “He’s had a couple of days of practice. He may play a few minutes against Tennessee.”
This year’s team features a crop of four experienced transfers in Stephen Clark (The Citadel), Cooper (Minnesota), Mack (Wofford) and Stute (Vanderbilt). The team’s 44.4% 2-point field goal defense is 21st nationally (third in SEC behind only Auburn & Tennessee). Last year, Carolina was 320th (53.7%) in 2-point field goal percentage defense.
The Gamecocks have the top-ranked scoring defense in the SEC, allowing just 64.5 points per game. Carolina has not allowed a team to score 80 points yet this season.
Why Bet on Tennessee Volunteers?
Tennessee (15-4, 5-1 SEC) won its fourth in a row Saturday, 75-62 at Vanderbilt. After trailing by five at the break, the Volunteers used a 10-0 run midway through the second half to take control of the contest. Tennessee shot 49.1 percent from the floor overall, making 53.8 percent including hitting 7-of-14 3-point attempts in the second half. The Volunteers also held a 38-31 advantage on the glass.
Fifth-year guard Dalton Knecht scored a game-best 32 points, his third time reaching that number in a four-game span, to lead UT to its 12th win over the in-state foe Commodores in the teams’ last 13 matchups. Knecht, who scored 21 of his points after halftime, finished 13-of-21 from the field to tie his season high for total makes. He went 3-of-7 from beyond the arc, grabbed six rebounds, notched three assists and set a career high with a game-leading three blocks.
Knecht is now averaging 31.4 points per game in his five road outings as a Volunteer, posting 24-plus in each contest while shooting 56-of-91 (61.5 percent) from the field and 17-of-36 (47.2 percent) beyond the arc. The only other SEC player in the last 19 seasons (2005-24) with 24-plus points in five consecutive road games was South Carolina’s Devan Downey from Dec. 30, 2009-Feb. 6, 2010. Knecht is the second SEC player in the last 19 seasons (2005-24) with five straight 25-point games, joining Devan Downey of South Carolina, who had seven in a row from Jan. 9-Feb. 6, 2010. Knecht is the ninth SEC player in the last 14 seasons (2010-24) with at least four 30-point games in a single campaign.
Fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi, in his program record-setting 129th start, finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Zakai Zeigler logged 10 points and a game-best six assists, while junior guard Jordan Gainey scored 10 points on a 2-of-3 long-range clip and a 4-of-4 free-throw ledger. Junior forward Jonas Aidoo added nine points, a game-high 10 rebounds and two blocks.
At least one Volunteer has scored 20-plus points in nine of the past 11 games, with a total of 11 such performances in that stretch. Vescovi passed Chris Lofton (2004-08) and Allan Houston (1989-93) for sole possession of the most starts in program history with 129. Vescovi also passed Tony White (1983-87) for third place on Tennessee’s all-time minutes played leaderboard, now with 4,055.
Zeigler was named a member of the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 List, as announced Monday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Zeigler is averaging 10.2 points, 5.1 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game this season, while shooting 34.0 percent from 3-point range. In SEC play, his averages stand at 14.3 points and 6.3 assists per contest.
Tennessee has the fourth-best scoring defense in the SEC at 66.1 points per game allowed. The Vols have the best field goal percentage defense in the conference (ranked fourth in the nation), allowing just 37.7 percent shooting by their opponents.
UT head coach Rick Barnes now owns 794 victories in his career, 11 behind John Calipari—the lone active DI coach above him—for No. 14 on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years at a Division I school).
South Carolina vs Tennessee Expert Prediction
Tennessee 73, South Carolina 59
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