The Texas Tech Red Raiders will play a neutral-court game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Both teams come into this game at 6-1, however, Tennessee has faced stronger competition to begin the year.
The Volunteers have knocked off North Carolina and Colorado while Texas Tech hasn’t even faced a Top-50 opponent yet.
The Red Raiders dropped their most recent game to Providence, losing 72-68 in their first true road game of the season. Texas Tech would really like to have a resume-building win to their name in the non-conference schedule.
Here are our free college basketball betting picks and predictions for the Jimmy V Classic between Texas Tech and Tennessee.
Texas Tech vs Tennessee odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Tennessee opened as a 2.5-point favorite but is now -4 at most outlets. Meanwhile, the total has mostly stayed the same since opening at 139. However, you are able to find a couple of outlets with a 139.5 number if you’re looking to line shop.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until tip-off and be sure to check out the full college basketball odds before placing your bets.
Texas Tech vs Tennessee predictions
Predictions made on 12/07/2021 at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Texas Tech vs Tennessee game info
• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Date: Tuesday, December 7, 2021
• Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
Texas Tech at Tennessee betting preview
Injuries
Texas Tech: No Injuries Reported.
Tennessee: No Injuries Reported.
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Over is 10-1 in Volunteers last 11 neutral site games as a favorite. Find more NCAA betting trends for Texas Tech vs. Tennessee.
Texas Tech vs Tennessee picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
Texas Tech has put up some incredible numbers this season. However, we have to keep in mind that they’ve played just one team ranked among the top 240 this season. I’m not talking down on Texas Tech, I’m just bringing up the reality that we need to see more from them before we can make huge assumptions.
Still, I think we see Texas Tech show up today. The offense is shooting an effective field goal percentage of 56% and has dominated the offensive glass with 49.2% offensive rebounds earned. That leads the nation.
Again, yes, Texas Tech has only played Providence and a bunch of lower-tier teams, but regardless, it’s an impressive stat. The Red Raiders have also hit 37.3% from downtown and 56% from inside, and while Texas Tech only shoots 68.5% from the foul line, it's been getting to the line at a high rate and that shouldn’t stop against Tennessee.
The Volunteers have one of the better defenses in the league. They’ve held opponents to a 46.1% effective field goal percentage while also earning 23.8% turnovers. Still, there are ways to beat Tennessee. The Vols are allowing teams to shoot 34.7% from long range and have been average on the defensive glass. That’s not good news going up against the top offensive rebounding team in the country.
Meanwhile, Tennessee has struggled to get to the line. While the Volunteers have shot well from the floor, Texas Tech is earning 27.8% turnovers on the season.
Prediction: Texas Tech +4 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Vols have one of the best defenses in the nation, however, this is a bad matchup. On the glass, the Red Raiders will make Tennessee pay with easy offensive rebounds and second-chance opportunities.
The Volunteers are allowing teams to shoot 34.7% from downtown. If Texas Tech takes wide-open looks, not only will the Red Raiders make them but they’ll also be able to rebound plenty of those misses.
On the other hand, Texas Tech hasn’t defended the three all that well this year, either. The Red Raiders have allowed 35.3% from downtown this year while the Vols are shooting 36.2%
Prediction: Over 139.5 (-110)
Best bet
I’m liking the Over in this game. At Madison Square Garden, the rims are friendly and the atmosphere is extremely fun. There’s always a couple of players who shine in these moments and put up ridiculous numbers in the box score.
Why can’t it be Marcus Santos-Silva for Texas Tech or Kennedy Chandler for Tennessee?
Pick: Pick (Odds)
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