Feast Week gets going in earnest tonight, and one of those events is the Baha Mar Hoops tournament, where the Virginia Cavaliers face off against the Tennessee Volunteers at the Baha Mar Convention Center in the Bahamas.
Both of these teams are undefeated with March Madness aspirations. It may be difficult for either offense to generate points, and my Virginia vs. Tennessee predictions expect Volunteers guard Zakai Zeigler will struggle to set up his teammates.
Read on for my college basketball picks for Thursday, November 21
Virginia vs Tennessee prediction
My best bet
Zakai Zeigler Under 6.5 assists (+115 at bet365)
My analysis
In the preseason, I was quite down on the Virginia Cavaliers because I viewed them as a mid-level ACC team. The only thing that has changed is Virginia's sharp decline in head coaching prowess, with Tony Bennett abruptly announcing his retirement before the season.
The second part of this is the Tennessee Volunteers have shot unbelievably well to start the season, and even though I've been relatively high on the Vols, the shooting is just not sustainable. ShotQuality agrees, grading one of the Tennessee wins as a loss and projecting some pretty big regression. What better place for that to come than in a weird ballroom venue where most players have no experience playing?
My strongest position on this game, which has plenty of unknowns, is that the offense is going to struggle to be free-flowing. For me, one of the best ways to highlight this is taking the Under on a player's assist total. Enter Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler at plus money to go Under 6.5 dimes.
Zeigler has gone Over this number in every game this season, which makes it a bit surprising that it's not listed at 7.5. A product of that is what happened early last season for Tennessee in their multi-team events, like when they went to Maui, and Zeigler failed to eclipse this number in all three games. He never got close. It's a similar scenario to this one where those jump shot assists could be more challenging because of the odd sightlines in a venue where basketball is rarely played.
Outside that, the core tenet of Virginia basketball has been its rim denial. Throughout Bennett's tenure, its backline defense did an elite job of denying shots at the rim and has started the season, albeit against poor competition, as the best team in college basketball in this arena.
This game comes down to Tennessee having to resort to some 1-on-1 dribble creation where Virgina is vulnerable to being attacked. That game flow is not conducive to many assists.
Virginia vs Tennessee same-game parlay
Zakai Zeigler Under 6.5 assists
Isaac McKneely Under 2.5 threes
The unfamiliarity of an odd venue makes for an erratic shooting night (especially in the first game for both teams).
In addition to that, Isaac McKneely will likely be shadowed by Jahmai Mashack, whose length and athleticism make him an early favorite to be one of the best individual defenders in the country.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Virginia vs Tennessee odds
Virginia vs Tennessee live odds
Virginia vs Tennessee opening odds
- Spread: Virginia +10.5 (-110) | Tennessee -10.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Virginia +450 | Tennessee -600
- Over/Under: Over 156 (-110) | Under 156 (-110)
Odds courtesy of bet365
Virginia vs Tennessee betting trend to know
Tennessee has covered the 1H Spread in 21 of their last 36 games (+6.00 Units / 14% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Virginia vs. Tennessee.
How to watch Virginia vs Tennessee
| Location: | Baha Mar Convention Center, Nassau, BS |
| Date: | Thursday, 11-21-2024 |
| Tip-off: | 9:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | CBSSN |
Virginia vs Tennessee key injuries
Not intended for use in MA.
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