Tennessee Volunteers at Connecticut Huskies, XL Center, Hartford, CT
Saturday, January 22, 2011, 2:00 pm Eastern, TV: CBS
Opening Line: UConn -7
Current Line: UConn -6
Opening Total: 142
Current Total: 141.5
Money Line: UConn -260 / Tennessee +220
The Tennessee Volunteers (12-6) have already beaten two of the top teams in the Big East and will try to win their third straight game overall when they visit the eighth-ranked Connecticut Huskies (15-2) on Saturday. The Volunteers knocked off #5 Pittsburgh and #7 Villanova on neutral courts earlier this season and get head coach Bruce Pearl back for this non-conference battle with the Huskies (-6).
Pearl was suspended for eight conference games after lying to NCAA investigators but is free to coach against non-SEC opponents, something his Volunteers thrived on during a 7-0 start. But they dropped three straight games against inferior competition outside their conference following an 83-76 win over the Panthers, two of which came at home.
Pearl’s suspension will be over in time for a visit to #12 Kentucky on February 12, but until then this game becomes key to his team’s NCAA tournament chances. It would be hard to keep a team out of the Big Dance that beat three Top 10 opponents from the Big East.
Tennessee has gone 2-2 so far in league play after its biggest non-conference win of the season, a 104-84 rout of Memphis on January 5. The Vols have won their last two games both straight-up and against the spread against Vanderbilt and Georgia by a combined five points with both games going UNDER the total. Freshman Tobia Harris and junior Scotty Hopson led the way by scoring 15 points apiece in their latest triumph, a 59-57 road victory against the Bulldogs on Tuesday.
Connecticut is coming off a 61-59 win over Villanova on Monday behind a team-high 24 points from leading scorer Kemba Walker, who struggled with his shooting from the field but still managed to hit the game-winning basket with 2.5 seconds left in the game. Walker made 6 of 18 shots overall. UConn failed to cover but went 4-0 against the spread in the previous four games.
The Huskies play three of their next four games at home after playing four of six on the road, including visits to #5 Pitt, #10 Texas and #16 Notre Dame. They must hit the road again on Tuesday when they play Marquette before hosting #19 Louisville and #3 Syracuse.
The Huskies have not faced Tennessee since 2000 when the Vols won 65-51 at home as 1-point underdogs. The total also went UNDER, a common theme for both teams recently overall. The UNDER has cashed in UConn’s last three games and in three of the past four for Tennessee.
Now that you have read this college basketball betting preview featuring Connecticut & Tennessee, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
