Tennessee vs. Texas prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball
01/10/2025 01:45 PM
The Texas fanbase will either roll their party into Saturday after a big College Football Playoff semi-final victory or not have much to cheer about after a crushing loss when they host Tennessee on Saturday afternoon. The Texas football team may own all the oxygen in Austin this weekend, but it’s hard to look past this matchup between the 19th-ranked and first-ranked teams in the nation. Texas will host Tennessee, who has been rolling this season with a 14-1 record. It might be Texas’ first year in the SEC, but these teams have some history against each other, playing three times in the past three seasons. Texas won two of three, but Tennessee covered the spread in two. It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Tennessee-Texas prediction and pick.
Tennessee suffered their first loss of the year, scoring 43 points against Florida. The Volunteers’ defense had been getting bailed out by their defense all season, but that could get exploited in conference play. It’s no slight to the Volunteers that they won 14 consecutive games to start the year, but that offensive performance woke up the doubters. The question for Tennessee is whether their offense can wake up for a road game.
Texas was rolling along until they hit an SEC play roadblock in losing back-to-back games to Texas A&M and Auburn. They had won seven of eight games before the losses, but their schedule was far from challenging. Taking on the top team in the nation should tell us plenty about where the Longhorns are heading this season.
Here are the Tennessee-Texas College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Tennessee-Texas Odds
Tennessee: -6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -275
Texas: +6.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +220
Over: 132.5 (-115)
Under: 132.5 (-105)
How to Watch Tennessee vs. Texas
Time: 6 PM ET/3 PM PT
TV: ESPN
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Tennessee Will Cover The Spread/Win
The path to victory for Tennessee is simple. Let their second-ranked defense take over and hope their offense performs well enough to get the win. It worked for the first 14 games of the season but fell apart in their last game. The Volunteers’ defense allows 57.1 points per game, which should be enough for any team to persevere and win. However, their 43-point offensive performance against Florida was a disaster. Tennessee believes that won’t happen again in this matchup.
Why Texas Will Cover The Spread/Win
Tennessee took care of Texas in the Round of 32 in last year’s March Madness, barely managing a 62-58 victory in a low-scoring defensive battle. Both teams shot less than 37% from the field, which could be a similar fate in this year’s game with their respective defenses. Tennessee’s defense has been one of the best in the country, but Texas will have something to say about it with their 43rd-ranked group. The good news for Texas is that their offense is much better than Tennessee’s, as the Longhorns rank 41st with 82.7 points per game, and the Volunteers rank 137th with 77.3 points per game. Texas will cover this game if this year’s game follows the same script as March Madness. It’s also worth noting that Dalton Knecht isn’t walking through the door to save the Volunteers like he did in last year’s matchup.
Final Tennessee-Texas Prediction & Pick
The oddsmakers didn’t overreact to Tennessee’s offensive performance in their last game. The oddsmakers believe this will be a massive bounce-back spot for the Volunteers. However, we will overreact and say that Tennessee doesn’t have the offensive firepower to keep up with other scorers. Tennessee could drop their second-straight game if their offense doesn’t wake up, and we’ll take Texas to at least cover a spread that should be slightly lower.
Final Tennessee-Texas Prediction & Pick: Texas +6.5 (-110)
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