The Colorado Buffaloes (1-1) and No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) clash in a Sunday matinee on neutral Nashville hardwood. The opening tip in the non-conference affair at Bridgestone Arena is at 2 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Colorado vs. Tennessee odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Colorado defeated Cal-Riverside 82-66 in its Monday opener, but then fell at Grambling 83-74 as a 14-point favorite on Friday. The Buffaloes were outshot 50% to 40.3 in Friday’s setback. Colorado went 3-2 in neutral-site games as part of a 21-13 campaign last season.
Tennessee trounced Tennessee Tech 75-43 Monday, although it failed to cover a 36-point spread. Fifteen offensive rebounds and 16 steals helped the Volunteers overcome a 40% shooting night against the Golden Eagles. Rebounding and a ball-hawking defense have been stapled of UT’s play the last couple of years. The Vols went 27-8 and won the SEC Tournament last season.
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Colorado vs. Tennessee odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:01 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Colorado +750 (bet $100 to win $750) | Tennessee -1400 (bet $1400 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Colorado +15.5 (-103) | Tennessee -15.5 (-117)
- Over/Under (O/U): 139.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Colorado vs. Tennessee picks and predictions
Prediction
Tennessee 73, Colorado 61
Moneyline
Would consider a Colorado partial-unit play at +825. Otherwise, PASS.
Against the spread
Last season at Colorado, a favored-by-5.5 UT squad downed the Buffs 69-54. But Colorado led that game early and in the 2nd half trailed by 5-10 points for much of the way.
The Buffaloes had turnover problems in their inexplicable loss to Grambling, and that does not bode well for facing defense-tough Tennessee. But Colorado has an experienced group and good experience against Pac-12 foes like Arizona, UCLA and Washington State, which serve as workable comps for Tennessee.
There is some risk to the Buffs not figuring things out offensively yet. But add a little rust risk to the UT side also; the Vols have been off for 5 days, and they had a few ATS missteps after similar-rest intervals last season.
COLORADO +15.5 (-103) is worth a play, perhaps as a partial-unit wager.
Over/Under
Peg this game for a mid-to-slow pace. The neutral site can monkey with shooting percentages.
The Under is losing steam, as the total has dropped 3 points during this writing. But there is still some value there.
BACK THE UNDER 139.5 (-110).
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