The No. 8-seeded Texas A&M Aggies (23-11) will take on the No. 2-seeded Tennessee Volunteers (25-7) Sunday in the final of the SEC Tournament. Tip at Amalie Arena in Tampa is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we look at the Texas A&M vs. Tennessee odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Texas A&M Aggies have pulled off a few impressive upsets so far in the SEC Tournament. They beat Florida in overtime 83-80, No. 1-seeded Auburn 67-62, and No. 4-seeded Arkansas 82-64.
The Aggies covered as 3-point, 9-point, and 6.5-point underdogs, respectively in those victories. On the season, their against the spread (ATS) record against conference opponents is an SEC-best 14-7 ATS.
The Vols are 11-9 ATS against SEC opponents. Overall, Tennessee is 19-13 ATS on the season. It beat Mississippi State 72-59 in the quarterfinal and then No. 3-seeded Kentucky 69-62 to get to the tournament finale.
Tennessee is ranked No. 11 in the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports – Auburn is No. 4 and Kentucky No. 5.
Texas A&M vs. Tennessee odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:09 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Texas A&M +220 (bet $100 to win $220) | Tennessee -280 (bet $280 to win $100)
- Against the spread: Texas A&M +6.5 (-115) | Tennessee -6.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 130.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Texas A&M vs. Tennessee odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Tennessee 68, Texas A&M 66
Money line
PASS.
It’s March, and A&M has two wins over teams seeded in the top four of the SEC tourney. While I think Tennessee (-280) comes out on top, it is unplayable at that price. A&M (+220) could be worth a sprinkle, but the spread is where the value is.
Against the spread
BET TEXAS A&M +6.5 (-115).
Texas A&M is going to have to defend Tennessee G Kennedy Chandler, who leads the Vols in scoring at 13.8 points per game (PPG). He’s no easy matchup, but the Aggies did extremely well against Arkansas G JD Notae in the semifinal victory, holding one of the SEC’s best scorers to just 5 points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Aggies head coach Buzz Williams is a terrific coach and should have a plan that will limit the Vols’ top-two guards. A&M is 11-5 ATS as an underdog this season and has covered 7 straight games, 5 of which they were underdogs in.
While Tennessee has one of the best defenses in the SEC, A&M scored 80 the first time two teams met – a Tennessee 10-point home win Feb 1. I expect A&M to have some success Sunday, unlike Kentucky, which struggled heavily from 3.
A&M averaged 77.3 PPG in its three SEC tourney games and should score enough to keep this game within 7 points.
Over/Under
LEAN to the OVER 130.5 (-110).
The first time these two teams met, there were 170 points scored as the Vols won 90-80 with a 131.5 projected total. As noted, A&M is averaging 77.3 PPG well in the SEC tourney, while Tennessee is averaging 70.5.
A&M is 22-11 O/U this season, and the two teams are a combined 3-2 O/U in the tournament.
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