The No. 5 seed Tennessee Volunteers will open their 2023 SEC Tournament campaign when they face the No. 13 seed Ole Miss Rebels on Thursday afternoon. Tennessee lost five of its final eight games down the stretch of the regular season, including a 79-70 setback at Auburn last Saturday. Ole Miss advanced to the second round of the tournament with a 67-61 win at No. 12 seed South Carolina on Wednesday.
Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Vols are favored by 12 points in the latest Tennessee vs. Ole Miss odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 128. Before entering any Ole Miss vs. Tennessee picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week at 76-51 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Tennessee vs. Ole Miss. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Tennessee vs. Ole Miss:
- Tennessee vs. Ole Miss spread: Tennessee -12
- Tennessee vs. Ole Miss over/under: 128 points
- Tennessee vs. Ole Miss money line: Tennessee -800, Ole Miss +550
- Tennessee vs. Ole Miss picks: See picks here
Why Tennessee can cover
Tennessee should enter this tournament with confidence as the defending champion, despite struggling at times down the stretch of the regular season. The Vols climbed as high as No. 2 in the polls at the end of January and rank third in the country in scoring defense (57.5 points per game). They are led by All-SEC senior guard Santiago Vescovi, who averages 12.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
Senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua is averaging 10.6 points and 5.0 rebounds, while senior guard Josiah-Jordan James is adding 10.1 points and 4.7 boards. They notched a win at Ole Miss at the end of December, despite James sitting out with an injury. Vescovi scored 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting in that contest, making 3 of 7 from 3-point range. Ole Miss has only covered the spread in six of its last 19 games.
Why Ole Miss can cover
Tennessee struggled down the stretch of the regular season, losing five of its final eight games. The Vols are also playing without point guard Zakai Zeigler, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week after averaging 10.7 points and a team-high 5.4 assists. The Vols were not as sharp defensively over the past month either, giving up 63.6 points in their last 10 games.
Ole Miss kept its season alive with Wednesday night's win against South Carolina, as Amaree Abram came off the bench to score 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He drilled 5 of 8 from 3-point range, which allowed the Rebels to overcome an off day from leading scorer Matthew Murrell. James White posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Ole Miss outscored South Carolina's bench 22-3.
How to make Tennessee vs. Ole Miss picks
The model has simulated Ole Miss vs. Tennessee 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in almost 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Tennessee vs. Ole Miss? And which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is 76-51 on its top-rated college basketball picks this season, and find out.
