The No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers host the Texas A&M Aggies in SEC basketball action on Saturday. Although the Aggies entered this season with high expectations, they haven't lived up to them, going just 6-7 in conference play.
The Volunteers have looked like National Title contenders as winners of five of their last six games, but that loss came against the Aggies two weeks ago. They'll be out for revenge tonight with college basketball odds installing the Vols as 10.5-point home favorites.
Here are my best free college basketball picks and predictions for Texas A&M vs. Tennessee on February 24.
Texas A&M vs Tennessee best odds
Texas A&M vs Tennessee picks and predictions
The Tennessee Volunteers had a lockdown defense last year but poor offensive play led to them getting eliminated in the Sweet 16. They added transfer guard Dalton Knecht in the offseason and he's been exactly the go-to scorer that they needed.
Knecht leads the team with 20.0 points per game, and the Volunteers are 21st in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency while ranking fifth on defense.
Despite stumbling in College Station two weeks ago, the Vols experienced one of their worst shooting nights of the year in that contest, while the Texas A&M Aggies showcased their best performance of the season. Such outlier performances are unlikely to repeat today, especially with the venue shifting to Thompson-Boling Arena, where the Vols boast a 12-1 record.
The Vols' other five wins at home in conference play all came by more than 18 points. As for the Aggies, they've been inconsistent all season and things have gotten worse for them after that win against Tennessee.
They are 0-3 straight up and against the spread in their last three games, with Alabama clobbering them by 25 points and a pair of embarrassing losses at the hands of Arkansas and Vanderbilt, who are a combined 6-20 in conference play.
The Aggies have been getting off to slow starts and are 11-22 ATS on the first-half spread in their last 33 games. With Tennessee boasting an incredible first-half scoring margin of +15.1 ppg at home, back a heavily motivated Vols team to come out strong and cover at halftime.
My best bet: Tennessee first half -5.5 (-115 at DraftKings)
Texas A&M vs Tennessee same-game parlay
Tennessee first half -5.5
Wade Taylor Under 18.5 points
Zakai Zeigler Under 6.5 assists
Although Aggies' leading scorer Wade Taylor IV went off for 25 points in these two programs' last meeting, I'm expecting major regression from him here. Keep in mind that he went 5-11 from beyond the arc in that contest and the Vols usually do a much better job of defending the arc, holding foes to just 26.4% shooting from deep at home.
Taylor leads Texas A&M with 19.1 ppg but he's typically very inefficient as a scorer, shooting just 36.7% from the field and 30.6% from long range. That game against Tennessee is the only time in his last six contests that he has scored more than 18 points.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler does a great job of distributing the ball but his assists total looks a tad inflated here. Zeigler is averaging 5.5 assists per game and has dropped 7+ dimes just twice in his last 11 games. He had six assists despite playing the entire 40 minutes in the first meeting, and the Aggies' slow pace will give him fewer opportunities to fill up the assists column.
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Texas A&M vs Tennessee spread and Over/Under analysis
The Volunteers opened as 10.5-point favorites with the Over/Under listed at 145.5. The spread hasn't seen any movement, while the total has ticked up just half a point to 146.
The Aggies are currently on a three-game losing streak. In their last contest, they were defeated 78-71 at home by Arkansas, despite being favored by double-digits. After losing to Texas A&M on February 10, the Vols took out their anger on Arkansas and Vanderbilt, destroying them by 29 and 35 points, respectively.
Texas A&M vs Tennessee betting trend to know
Tennessee has covered the first-half spread in 14 of its last 20 home games (+7.00 Units / 30% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Texas A&M vs. Tennessee.
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Texas A&M vs Tennessee game info
| Location: | Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN |
| Date: | Saturday, February 24, 2024 |
| Tip-off: | 8:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | ESPN |
Texas A&M vs Tennessee key injuries
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