The game of the night around college basketball on Wednesday is from the SEC as No. 11 Auburn visits No. 4 Tennessee with the Vols co-leading the conference by a game over the Tigers. UT is a solid favorite on the College Basketball odds.
Auburn vs. Tennessee Odds and Betting Analysis | MyBookie College Basketball Betting Preview for the Series
2024 NCAA Division I | 85th annual edition of the tournament
No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 4 Tennessee
Tennessee -7.5 / Tennessee -350; Auburn +225 / O/U 152
Wednesday, February 28th, 2024 at 7:00 PM ET | ESPN+
Thompson-Boling Arena
Auburn vs. Tennessee Last Meeting
This is the only scheduled meeting between the schools this season, although they could meet in the SEC or even NCAA Tournament. Last year, they split two meetings. The one in Knoxville was 46-43 in favor of Tennessee. Josiah-Jordan James scored 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Vols, who shot just 27% from the field and 9.5% from the 3-point line. Tennessee had a 47-42 edge on the boards and 15-8 on the offensive glass. Auburn managed only 24% from the field and 11% from the 3-point line. Johni Broome led the way with 11 points and nine rebounds. Wednesday will be the fourth time in the last eight meetings both Tennessee and Auburn are ranked, with the Volunteers going 2-1 in the prior three.
Why Bet on Auburn?
Auburn (21-6, 10-4 SEC) won 97-76 at Georgia on Saturday after having a full week off. The Tigers opened the game with a double-digit lead that it held for most of the first half due to knocking down nearly 60 percent of its shots in the first 16 minutes. Despite 13 points in the half from Silas Demary Jr., the Bulldogs headed to the locker room trailing the Tigers, 45-34.
Georgia cut the deficit to just five at 60-55 after Noah Thomasson converted on a second-chance opportunity and Justin Hill knocked down a 3-pointer in transition heading into the under-12 media timeout. Hill then got it down to three points after getting to the rack for a layup, but the Tigers stretched it back out to nine, 72-63, after a pair of 3-pointers and UGA could never recover.
As a team, Auburn shot 62.1 percent (36-of-58) from the field, its best field-goal percentage since shooting 65.4 percent against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Dec. 30. The Tigers also matched a season high with 14 3-pointers, a mark they set against Indiana. It’s the most 3-point field goals in an SEC game since Auburn made 14 at South Carolina on Jan. 23, 2021.
Making his first start at Auburn, Chad Baker-Mazara responded with a career-high 25 points. Baker-Mazara was inserted into the starting lineup against the Bulldogs as Coach Bruce Pearl looked to shake things up with Jaylin Williams out due to injury. He came out firing with eight points and a pair of 3-pointers in the game’s first four minutes. He closed out the first half with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
Baker-Mazara finished 8-of-12 for the game and was 7-of-7 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds, four assists and two steals. As part of the shakeup with Williams out, Chaney Johnson and Aden Holloway joined Baker-Mazara in the starting lineup Saturday. Both players scored in double figures. For Johnson, it was his first Division I start after transferring in from UAH. He did his best Jaylin Williams impression with 16 points on 6-of-9 from the field and grabbed four rebounds. Williams is questionable for this game.
“When Jaylin Williams went down, Chaney Johnson was next man up,” Pearl said. “But you saw his skill. You saw his athleticism. You saw him do it inside and out. You saw him do it defensively. You saw him do it on the boards. He did not look like anybody’s backup 4 man. Just a tremendous step-up by Chaney.”
Holloway scored an SEC-career high 15 points and matched his career best by draining five 3-pointers (Indiana) on eight attempts at Georgia. He added three assists and one rebound in the win. It was his ninth game in double figures this season and first since scoring 10 points at Vanderbilt on Jan. 17. Star Johni Broome had 16 points and 13 rebounds. It was his 57th career double-double and his 11th of the season, which surpassed his total from last season. It was also Broome’s 18th straight game in double figures.
Auburn’s 97 points were the Tigers’ most points in a SEC road game since earning a 109-86 win at South Carolina on Jan. 23, 2021. The win was Auburn’s SEC-best 12th win of the season by 20-or-more points, including five in SEC play, which is tied with Tennessee for the most in the league.
AU reached double-digit SEC wins for the 23rd time in program history, including the sixth time in the last seven seasons, which matches Tennessee for the most in the league over that time. The Tigers have won double-digit SEC games for the third-straight season, which matches the longest streak in program history.
Why Bet on Tennessee?
Tennessee (21-6, 11-3) won its fourth in a row Saturday, 86-51 over Texas A&M. The SEC’s leader in rebounding margin, the Aggies were out-rebounded by the Volunteers, 50-to-33, which contributed to UT’s 46 points in the paint and 21 fast-break points. The Aggies shot 27.3% from the field in dropping their fourth in a row and Tennessee dominated the boards, 50-33. It marked the first time they grabbed 50 boards in a game since Dec. 7, 2022, and first time in SEC play since Feb. 26, 2022, as well as just the third time in the last nine seasons (2015-24) the Aggies were minus-17 on the glass.
The Vols scored 12 of the opening 17 points of the second frame — making it a 25-8 extended burst — to grab a commanding 17-point advantage, 49-32, with 16:17 remaining. The Aggies never cut their deficit below 13 from that point on. Dalton Knecht led UT with 24 points. Knecht shot 7-of-14 from the field, 4-of-9 beyond the arc and 6-of-7 at the stripe. He added seven rebounds in the triumph.
Knecht is the sixth SEC player in the last 12 years (2012-24) to record 14-plus points in at least 13 straight league games, joining Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves (2023-24), LSU’s Cameron Thomas (2020-21), Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon (2018-19), South Carolina’s Sindarius Thornwell (2016-17) and Alabama’s Retin Obasohan (2015-16).
Jonas Aidoo logged his eighth double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-best 14 rebounds, becoming the first Volunteer with that line since March 21, 2014. He finished 9-of-14 from the floor and led all players with three blocks. Tobe Awaka notched 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with six rebounds.
Zakai Zeigler turned in a dazzling line of nine points, a career-high nine rebounds, a career-high 14 assists and zero turnovers. No other Division I player in at least the last 19 seasons (2005-24) has recorded such a line. He became just the sixth Power Six player — two are Volunteers — with 14-plus assists and no giveaways during that time, as well as tied for the sixth-most assists in a single game in UT history.
It was the 800th Division I win for UT Coach Rick Barnes. The 69-year-old became the 14th coach to win 800 games at Division I schools. He also coached George Mason , Providence, Clemson and Texas, winning 402 games in 17 seasons with the Longhorns. He has 196 in nine seasons at Tennessee.
The Volunteers are now 73-22 (.768) as an AP top-10 team and 32-9 (.780) as an AP top-five team in Barnes’ nine-year tenure, all in the past seven seasons. Tennessee now has six wins by 35-plus points in SEC play in the last 24 years (2000-24), with four of them in the last two seasons.
This is the third time in the last 58 seasons (1966-2024) the Volunteers have posted a four-game conference winning streak with a total margin of victory of at least 100, joining spans during the 2018-19 (Jan. 5-15, 2019) and 2013-14 (Feb. 26-March 8, 2014) campaigns, with neither of those total margins matching the current stretch of 104.
Auburn is the first of four straight ranked teams on UT’s schedule to end the regular season. The Vols have faced four straight AP- ranked foes just once in program history, from Jan. 20- 31, 2004. UT, then unranked, lost to the first three before beating the fourth. UT has never played four straight top-20 teams.
No. 11 Auburn vs. No. 4 Tennessee
NCAAB Betting Pick: Tennessee 72, Auburn 68 | Odds for College Basketball Games
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No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 15 Jacksonville State | NCAA Tournament Betting Odds & Favorites
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Little Jacksonville State doesn’t get to play its big in-state brother Auburn often, but the Midwest Region No. 15 Gamecocks get a shot at the No. 2 Tigers in NCAA Tournament action on Friday. The winner gets either USC or Miami (Fla.). Auburn is a double-digit favorite on the NCAAB odds.
How to Bet Auburn vs. Jacksonville State NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info
- When: Friday, 12:40 PM ET
- Where: Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
- TV: truTV
Why Bet on Jacksonville State?
Jacksonville State (21-10) lost to Jacksonville in the semifinal of the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Jacksonville then lost to Bellarmine — which is midway through its Division I transition and ineligible for the NCAA tournament — in the title game. So instead, Jacksonville State has earned the league’s automatic bid, its first since 2017, because it had the best regular-season conference record (13-3).
The Gamecocks finished 16-4 in their past 20 games and made 40% of their 3-pointers in league play. Plus, Darian Adams (15.6 PPG, 38.5% from beyond the arc) was one of the top players in the conference. And Ray Harper was named Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year.
Adams’ 469 points this season are the fifth-most in a single-season by Gamecock in the program’s Division I era. He is joined along the perimeter by graduate transfer Jalen Gibbs and junior Demaree King to create one of the most successful three-point attacks in the nation. All three have hit at least 69 treys, including King’s single-season school-record 84, while boasting the nation’s third-best outside shooting percentage.
On the inside, seniors Kayne Henry and Brandon Huffman controlled the paint this season. In 31 games, Huffman shot 65 percent from the field, and led the team with 181 rebounds and Henry pulled down 173 boards and has moved to fifth on JSU’s Division I career rebounding list.
The Gamecocks previously earned the program’s first-ever berth into the NCAA Tournament in 2017 winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Nashville. JSU drew a 15-seed that year and lost to Louisville in Indianapolis in Coach Harper’s first season.
Jax State and Auburn have met on the hardwood 13 times since 1955, with the most recent matchup coming on Nov. 19, 2013. The matchup rekindles an old Division II coaching battle between JSU’s Harper (Kentucky Wesleyan) and AU’s Bruce Pearl (Southern Indiana) between 1996 and 2001.
Why Bet on Auburn?
Auburn (27-5) was the SEC regular-season champion but upset in its first conference tournament game last Friday by Texas A&M, 67-62. Auburn didn’t go down without a fight. Trailing 56-37 midway through the second half, the Tigers outscored Texas A&M, 25-11, over the final 10 minutes.
Sophomore guard Wendell Green Jr. played a major role in the comeback with four 3-pointers down the stretch. The fourth 3, Green pulled up in transition and buried it from long range to cut the lead to five with a little over two minutes left. Green fouled out a few moments later but finished with 15 points on 5 of 9 from deep.
Auburn’s frontcourt duo of Jabari Smith and Walker Kessler continued their strong play with a combined 33 points and 18 rebounds. Smith led the Tigers with 17 points while Kessler scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half. Both pulled down nine rebounds.
“We didn’t have a great execution of our game plan,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “We had two or three guys plays really well, and you just need more than that. We’re a team that plays better when everybody contributes.”
SEC Freshman of the Year Smith is a semifinalist for this year’s Naismith Men’s Player of the Year Award. Smith has had a banner rookie year also becoming the first Auburn player in program history since 1999 to be named an All-American. The SEC coaches also selected him to the All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Freshman Team. Smith was a six-time freshman of the week honoree averaging a team-leading 17.1 points per game in all 31 games he played and started in the regular season.
Kessler is one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy Men’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. The SEC Defensive Player of the Year and All-SEC First Team selection, Kessler enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 shot blocker in the country averaging 4.5 blocks per game and the only NCAA Division I player with two triple-doubles on the season.
The No. 2 seed is the second-highest tournament seed for the Tigers, who won the regular-season title outright for the first time since 1999. They were previously seeded a program-best No. 1 in 1999. Auburn received an at-large bid – its 11th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance next to 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2018 and 2019.
The Tigers are 17-10 (.630) all-time in NCAA Tournament games including 5-2 under Coach Bruce Pearl. Auburn went 7-3 this season against NCAA Tournament teams including UConn, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, LSU, Loyola Chicago, Yale and Murray State.
Auburn won’t show up to any game in the tournament with a talent deficit but a team that made just 30% of its 3-point attempts in SEC play could get stumped in the later rounds. The last three national champions all shot at least 39% from 3.
Expert Prediction: Auburn 78, Jacksonville 63
2021 Auburn vs #2 Baylor Route to March Madness
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There will be more than a few future NBA players on the court Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup between unranked but rising Auburn of the SEC and unbeaten No. 2 Baylor of the Big 12, which will be a solid favorite on the NCAAB odds.
How to Bet Auburn at Baylor NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info
- When: Saturday, 4 PM ET
- Where: Ferrell Center
- TV: ESPN
- Stream: ESPN app
- Radio:com
Series History
Auburn trails the all-time series with Baylor, 4-2, but the two teams have only matched up three times in the last 50 years – 1995, 1996, 2009. The Tigers are 1-1 when facing the Bears on the road all-time.
Why Bet on Auburn? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis
The Tigers (10-7) won for the fourth time in five games Tuesday, 88-82 over No. 12 Missouri. While Missouri led by as many as seven in the second half, Auburn battled back and took the lead for good with 7:34 left on a floater from freshman Sharife Cooper. It was Allen Flanigan’s one-handed slam in the final minutes that proved to be the exclamation point.With Auburn up seven and just under two minutes remaining, Flanigan took off from midcourt, blew by his defender and threw it down with his left hand.
Cooper had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. The point guard, who missed Auburn’s first 11 contests this season, had his fourth 20-point outing in six career games.
“That’s the best win of the year so far against a nationally ranked team,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “A really, really good team in Missouri. A veteran team and a team we couldn’t beat last year.”
With 14 points from Chris Moore, eight points apiece from Devan Cambridge and Dylan Cardwell, and contributions from Javon Franklin and Babatunde Akingbola, Auburn outscored Missouri’s bench, 34-22. Auburn matched its season high with 14 blocks on the night. Akingbola led the way with five.
Auburn boasts the ninth-tallest team in the country, averaging 78.7 inches per player – nearly 6-foot-7. Auburn’s average height of 78.7 inches on the 2020-21 roster is the tallest the Tigers have had over the last 15 seasons.
It was the highest-ranked team the Tigers have beaten in the regular season since March 9, 2019 (No. 5 Tennessee, 84-80). It was also the eighth win in their last 11 games against ranked opponents. Auburn is 12-19 vs. the Top 25 under Pearl, while Pearl is 37-44 all-time against ranked teams.
Auburn is 2-3 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge in its history but has won its last two. The Tigers won at TCU in 2017 and vs. Iowa State inside Auburn Arena in 2020.
Why Bet on Baylor? | 2021 NCAA Basketball Expert Analysis
Baylor (15-0) trashed Kansas State 107-59 on Wednesday. After on Dec. 19 becoming the first opponent since 1992 to score 100 points at Kansas State in a 31-point victory, the Bears jumped out to a 31-point lead in the first 11 1/2 minutes in the rematch. Baylor hadn’t scored 100 points twice against an opponent in the same season since 1978-79 against TCU.After a tough three-game stretch that saw the Bears, beat both Texas Tech and Kansas by eight and rally from a nine-point deficit to beat Oklahoma State on the road, this one had a different look pretty much from the start. After Antonio Gordon ended Baylor’s first 18-0 run with a 3-pointer, the Bears reeled off another 18 in a row and went up 38-5. Davion Mitchell had a career-high 31 points and seven made three-pointers.
The 48-point margin was the Bears’ second-biggest ever, topped only by a 97-45 win over Texas A&M on Feb. 3, 2002. Baylor also scored its second-most points in a Big 12 game behind only the 116-110 five-OT victory at Texas A&M in 2008.
“They’re really good, they’re undefeated for a reason” said K-State coach Bruce Weber, whose team has dropped eight-straight league games. “Unless something happens, they’re going to win the league and they’re a team that’s going to be playing late into March and into April, I would expect.”
Jared Butler scored all 13 of his points in the first half and Matthew Mayer chipped in with 10 points for the Bears, who have a two-game lead over fifth-ranked Texas in the Big 12 standings. Baylor dominated the boards, 41-23, shot a sizzling 60.7 percent from 3-point range (17-of-28) and doubled up the Wildcats on points in the paint, 44-22. Senior forward Mark Vital, who had eight points, five rebounds, three steals and a block, set a program record with his 40th Big 12 victory.
Expert College Basketball Prediction
Baylor 80, Auburn 68
2018 Samford vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds & Expert Pick
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Could be a bit of a trap game on Wednesday for No. 3 Tennessee as the Vols welcome a pretty good Samford side (relatively speaking) from the Southern Conference. The Vols are off a big game at rival Memphis and ahead of a tougher test vs. Wake Forest. They are still huge NCAA Basketball Betting favorites here.
How to Bet Samford vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds & Game Info
- When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville
- TV: SEC Network
All-Time Series
Tennessee won its only previous meeting with Samford, as the Vols posted an 83-79 home win on Nov. 28, 1977, at Stokely Athletics Center. The Vols are 93-17 all-time against current members of the Southern Conference.
Why Bet on Samford?
Samford is a private Christian university founded in 1841 and located in Homewood, Alabama. It is rebuilding after losing 10 players, including all five starters, from last season’s 10-22 team but is off to a nice start.
Samford is off an 85-61 win over something called Houston Baptist on Monday in Birmingham, Ala. Samford improved to 10-2 on the season, marking the best start to a season after 12 games since the 1960-61 season. Josh Sharkey led Samford with 24 points and five assists. Brandon Austin scored 22 points to mark his second-straight game with more than 20 points. Robert Allen added 14 points and seven rebounds.
A few Samford players are at or near the top of the Southern Conference in several statistical categories. Ruben Guerrero leads the league in field goal percentage (.664), ranks second in offensive rebounds (3.7 pg.), and he ranks third in blocked shots (1.9 pg.). Guerrero leads the team in both scoring and rebounding. So far this season, Guerrero is averaging 15.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
Sharkey leads the league in steals (2.6 pg.), and he ranks second in assists (6.0 pg.) and minutes played (33.5 pg.). Allen ranks third in the league in defensive rebounds (6.5 pg.). Sharkey has scored in double figures in 10 games and he has dished out at least five assists in nine games.
NCAA fans may know Samford’s coach: Scott Padgett. He was a former star at the University of Kentucky, NCAA champion and first-round NBA draft pick. Padgett is in his fifth season.
Samford has played one other ranked team this season, losing 68-50 at Ohio State on Nov. 20. The Bulldogs led by three at halftime, though. The Buckeyes shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to 24 percent for Samford.
Why Bet on Tennessee?
The Vols’ only loss was by six in overtime to current No. 1 Kansas. UT has won three straight since, including over former No. 1 Gonzaga. Tennessee comes off a 102-92 win at rival Memphis on Saturday.
dmiral Schofield finished with 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds while helping the Vols eclipse the 100-point margin for the first time since putting up 103 against Appalachian State on Nov. 15, 2016. Schofield is the first Vol to score 25 points in consecutive games since Kevin Punter Jr. did so in 2016.
Four other players chipped in double-digit scoring performances vs. Memphis. Grant Williams had 19 points, five assists, and four rebounds, while Jordan Bone dropped 17 points behind 11-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe. Jordan Bowden finished with 12 points, and Kyle Alexander just missed a double-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocks.
Tennessee was 39-for-46 at the free-throw line. The last time UT made 30 free throws in a game was last season vs. Auburn (1/2/18) when the Big Orange made exactly 30. In the second half alone, Tennessee was 25-of-29 from the line.
Tennessee has three nonconference games remaining before heading into SEC play to defend its share of the regular-season title. Coach Rick Barnes has outlined one area where improvement is needed: Defense. The fourth-year coach said the Vols are being beaten too often on the perimeter with drives, leaving UT’s post players coming over to make plays and, sometimes, picking up fouls. The Vols are averaging 17.7 fouls per game this season with two foul-outs – Williams against Kansas and Gonzaga.
“We’ve got to guard the ball better. We’ve got to do a better job of ball-screen defense. We’ve got to guard the ball. We can’t continue to give up just straight-line drives without staying between the ball and the basket.”
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction for Samford vs Tennessee
Take the points. Samford can hang within 20.
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