USC Upstate Spartans vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/14/2021

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Tuesday, December 14, 2021

Venue:  Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN 

Where to Watch:  SEC Network+

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  USCU +33.5, Tennessee -33.5; Over/Under:  138.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  USCU +34, Tennessee -34; Over/Under:  138 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  USCU +33.5, Tennessee -33.5; Over/Under:  138.5 points

 

USC Upstate Spartans:  2-7 (12th place, Big South)

Tennessee Volunteers:  7-2 (6th place, SEC)

 

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Will Rogers is on a 112-89 NCAAB RUN! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

 

USC Upstate Spartans:  1-4 last 5

Tennessee Volunteers:  4-1 last 5

 

 

 

USCU is coming into this game with a 2-7 record overall and they are 1-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. Their last win was against the South Carolina State Bulldogs but they have gone on a 4 game losing streak since then with losses coming against the Furman Paladins, the North Carolina Central Eagles, the Western Carolina Catamounts, and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in their last game. Nick Alves and Jordan Gainey both led the team in points in that game with 10 each while Quentin Hodge was next on the team off the bench with 9 points. Dalvin White led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Bryson Mozone and Jalen Breazeale both led the team in rebounds with 6 each. They were 32.8% from the field, 24% from 3-point range, and 63.6% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 68.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 71.3 PPG against them. USCU has an ATS record of 4-3-1 this season and their O/U record is 4-4.

 

 

Tennessee is coming into this game with a 7-2 record overall and they are 5-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They have won 5 of their last 6 games and they are coming into this one off of a win in their last game. Their last loss was against the Texas Tech Red Raiders while their 5 wins in that span came against the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, the Presbyterian Blue Hose, the Colorado Buffaloes, and the UNC Greensboro Spartans in their last game. Josiah-Jordan James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield off the bench both led the team in points in that game with 12 while Santiago Vescovi was next on the team with 10 points. Vescovi led the team in assists in that game with 8 while John Fulkerson, James, Justin Powell, and Uros Plavsic all led the team in rebounds with 4 each. They were 45.3% from the field, 37.1% from 3-point range, and 71.4% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 76.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 58.6 PPG against them. Tennessee has an ATS record of 5-4 this season and their O/U record is 4-5.

 

Tennessee is coming into this game as a 33.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Tennessee has been having a good season so far and they are at home for this game where they are an undefeated 5-0 there. Tennessee has already blown out a few bad teams by well over 30 points at home this season. USC Upstate has not been having a good season and they have not been playing well in their games. They are also not a very good team when playing on the road. They are going to struggle to score in this game. The best bet to place in this game is on Tennessee to cover the spread here.

 

USC Upstate Tennessee Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Tuesday, December 14, 2021 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Tennessee 86 USC Upstate 46.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert basketball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this USC Upstate Spartans Tennessee Volunteers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAB predictions and previews.

 

 

USC Upstate Spartans: 16-25 O/U after 2 straight games giving up 9 or less offensive rebounds. 4-10 O/U off an embarrassing road loss scoring less than 60 points. 2-8 O/U after allowing 75 points or more 2 straight games. 3-7 O/U after a blowout loss by 20 points or more. 4-7 O/U after scoring 55 points or less. 2-8 O/U after failing to cover the spread in 2 or more consecutive games.

Tennessee Volunteers: 2-6 O/U in a home game where the total is 135 to 139.5. 3-12 O/U in December games. 8-15 O/U after 2 consecutive non-conference games. 1-5 O/U when playing only their 2nd game in a week. 27-47 O/U off a home blowout win by 20 points or more. 4-12 O/U after a blowout win by 20 points or more. 31-53 O/U after 2 straight games committing 11 or less turnovers. 27-49 O/U after 5 straight games committing 14 or less turnovers.

 

 

USC Upstate Spartans:  None.

Tennessee Volunteers:  None.

 

 

“Obviously it wasn’t a very pretty game from either side. I don’t want to take anything away from Texas Tech and Mark, he does a great job defensively, what they do. We knew that their size would be (an issue), one, our guards. Defensively, we did enough. Offensively, we didn’t. Didn’t shoot well. Free throws, in that situation, become big too.” - Rick Barnes on his team’s loss against Texas Tech.

 

 

“The positive is I don’t know if we can play any worse on offense. And we were in the game. We stayed in it. It was a grind game and we stayed in it. Had a chance. You think about it, we had a great look to win the game, as bad as we were on the offensive end tonight. That’s part of it. We know we can be a whole lot better.” - Rick Barnes on their loss against Texas Tech.

 

 

 

J. Aldrich 

J. Breazeale 

J. Gainey 

M. Goodloe 

B. Mozone

 

V. Bailey 

K. Chandler 

J. Fulkerson 

O. Nkamhoua 

S. Vescovi

 

 

PPG: B. Mozone (13.6)

APG: D. White (2.7)

Reb/G: J. Aldrich (5)

 

PPG: K. Chandler (14.6)

APG: K. Chandler (4.9)

Reb/G: J. Fulkerson (6.3)

 

Coaches:

USC Upstate Spartans: Dave Dickerson (4th season)

Tennessee Volunteers: Rick Barnes (7th season)