Rick Barnes and the Tennessee vols open up the NCAA tournament in Philadelphia taking on No. 11 seed Miami (OH). The RedHawks beat SMU on Wednesday evening in the First Four 89-79 in an electric matchup. Winning 31 regular season games Miami has become America’s Cinderella.
Tennessee went 21-10 in the regular season and then went 1-1 in the SEC Tournament beating Auburn and losing to rival Vanderbilt.
In the eyes of Vegas, Tennessee is viewed as a fairly large favorite.
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Miami (OH) Cal Baptist final odds, spread, and total
odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
- Tennessee -11.5 (-115)
- Miami (OH): +11.5 (-105)
Moneyline
- Tennessee: -690
- Miami (OH): +470
Total
O/U: 149.5 (-110)
Prediction for Tennessee vs Miami (OH)
The Vols have more talent on paper, but this Miami team is feisty. They have the ability to hit any shot on the floor and can move the ball around the perimeter to get a good look off. They play unselfishly with five players averaging double digit points a game this year. They are lead by Brant Byers who had 19 against SMU.
Tennessee has the size and physicality advantage and they will need to play inside and out. This is a game I’d expect a good chunk of Tennessee’s points coming from inside the paint and the Vols will need to look for kick outs and hit their open threes when they have the opportunity. This game rides heavily on the Vols ability to convert on their seconmd chance points. Miami will defensive rebound but not on offense. If Tennessee can contest shots and make the game a non track meet they should be successful.
Digging deeper, having elite guard play with Ja’Kobi Gillespie is a huge advantage for the balls because teams that succeed in March always have a veteran guard to lean on. Tennessee also can lean on Nate Ament he projected top 10 pick in this summer’s NBA draft. I think this game ends up being very close but the overall talent boasts is just a little bit too much for the RedHawks.
Prediction: Tennessee 80 Miami (OH) 77