Can the Tennessee Volunteers exploit Villanova and their defensive weaknesses in the Cheez-It Hall of Fame Tip-Off? Let’s dive into the NCAAB odds for this one!
Saturday, November 20, 2021 – 01:00 PM EST at Mohegan Sun Arena
The Villanova Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers will start things off at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut for the Cheez-It Hall of Fame Tip-Off. Villanova has faced tougher competition this season. Through three games, the Wildcats started the season 2-1 after folding late against UCLA in overtime earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Volunteers are 2-0 on the year but haven’t faced high-level competition just yet. Today will be the day they’ll get to showcase their talents against real competition like Villanova. Villanova is third in the nation in offensive adjusted efficiency with a 115.6 number. The Wildcats are shooting a 61.9 percent effective field goal percentage and have turned the ball over just 10.4 percent of the time.
On top of that, Villanova is shooting 48.8 percent from long range and 89.1 percent from the foul line. The offense isn’t the problem, but the defense is. The defense has allowed teams to shoot an effective field goal percentage of 56.7 percent on the year. Opponents against Villanova have shot 40 percent from long range and 54.8 percent from inside.
The Wildcats are also not going to protect the rim often as they’re averaging an extremely low amount of blocks per game. For Villanova, Justin Moore leads the team with 19 points while three other players average 16 or more points per game including Collin Gillespie, Brandon Slater and Jermaine Samuels. The offense will be there but the defense is concerning.
On the other hand, Tennessee is ranked in the top 20 in offensive and defensive efficiency. The Vols are grabbing 48.3 percent offensive rebounds through two games and have shot 42.9 percent from downtown to start the year.
Knowing how poor Villanova has been defending the three and defending inside, Tennessee should be able to knock down a bunch of threes and dominate inside for potential second-chance buckets. Defensively, Tennessee is also earning 26 percent of turnovers per game. It’ll have a chance to really take Villanova out of their comfort zone and force more turnovers.
Tennessee might not be as gifted offensively as Villanova, but defense wins basketball games. The Wildcats haven’t really struggled to defend this year and that’s going to show in this game. Tennessee still has multiple guys who are major threats offensively including Kennedy Chandler, who averaged 18 points per game with just 24 minutes per game.
So far, the rotation for Tennessee has been fast. It’s keeping everyone fresh and really helping the defense get going. That could change against Villanova but one thing is for sure, Tennessee will be the better team on both ends of the floor. Take Tennessee +2.5 for your NCAAB pick today.
NCAAB Pick: Tennessee +2.5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.