Tag: bruce pearl

It’s Rick Barnes vs. Bruce Pearl on Saturday

It’s Rick Barnes vs. Bruce Pearl on Saturday.

KNOXVILLE — When the Tennessee men’s basketball team takes the floor Saturday, it will be against Auburn on the Plains Saturday at noon.

The matchup is always interesting any time the Volunteers and Tigers tangle on the hardwood because former UT head coach Bruce Pearl is on the opposing sideline.

Pearl replaced Buzz Peterson as the Vols’ head coach in 2005 and immediately made basketball relevant on Rocky Top again.

With his sometimes larger-than-life personality and a passion for the game and the university, Pearl injected life into a basketball program at a tradition-rich football school.

Pearl won big games, took Tennessee to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, and won the Southeastern Conference regular season championship in 2008.

But all good things come to an end. Tennessee dismissed Pearl following the 2010-11 season after recruiting violations netted the coach a show-cause penalty from the NCAA.

Tennessee’s basketball program immediately went back into obscurity as it hired Cuonzo Martin, who took the Vols to the Sweet 16 after winning a play-in game in 2014 before bolting for California. Donnie Tyndall replaced Martin, but was relieved of his duties after one season due to NCAA infractions.

Enter Rick Barnes.

Barnes took the Vols to the Sweet 16 last season and finally has Tennessee relevant in basketball again. But the Big Orange has had its share of struggles this season with a 15-11 overall record. And the Vols at 7-6 in the SEC are on the NCAA Tournament bubble at best.

They need a win over the Tigers (22-4, 9-4) Saturday, but Barnes hasn’t exactly been successful in recent head-to-head battles against Pearl.

The two coaches have met 10 times with Pearl holding a 6-4 edge thanks to Auburn winning the last three meetings against the Vols, including last year’s SEC Tournament championship game.

Tennessee last beat the Tigers in 2017.

While at Tennessee, Pearl beat Barnes’ Texas teams in 2005 and 2006 when the Longhorns’ roster included names like Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Barnes and the Vols will certainly look to reverse Barnes’ fortunes against a one-time favorite son on Rocky Top.

Kentucky Wildcats at Auburn Tigers college basketball odds, picks and best bets

Analyzing Kentucky Wildcats at Auburn Tigers sports betting odds and lines, with college basketball betting picks and tips.

The Kentucky Wildcats (16-4) head to Auburn Arena to play the Auburn Tigers (18-2) at 6:00 p.m. ET. We analyze the Kentucky-Auburn odds and betting lines, with college basketball betting advice and tips around this matchup.

Wildcats at Tigers: Three things you need to know

  1. Auburn is 3-6 straight up and 4-4-1 against the spread versus the Wildcats since Bruce Pearl’s first season at Auburn (2014-15).
  2. Kentucky has won eight of its previous nine games, including two overtime victories over ranked opponents – the Louisville Cardinals and Texas Tech Red Raiders.
  3. Auburn is winners of three in a row after dropping the previous two to SEC opponents—Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide— by double-digits.

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Wildcats at Tigers: Odds, betting lines and picks

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:15 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Auburn 79, Kentucky 70

Moneyline (ML)

We are backing the senior-laden Auburn -167 team against the trademark diaper dandy stacked Wildcats +135. The four starting seniors for Auburn are going to be jacked up to win in their final home game against SEC-rival Kentucky who’s starting zero seniors.

However, what gives me pause in betting the moneyline is Kentucky is the first ranked opponent for Auburn in 2019-20, while the Wildcats are 3-1 straight up and against the spread against ranked competition. I do like Auburn in this spot but still I’m PASSING ON A MONEY LINE WAGER in Kentucky-Auburn.

Against the Spread (ATS)

I LOVE AUBURN -3.5 (-110) for a couple of trendy reasons:

  • Auburn has the second-best ATS record in the SEC since 2014 at 45-37-1 with a 10.2 margin of victory and Kentucky has the second-worst ATS record as a road team at 24-30-1 ATS.
  • Kentucky doesn’t do well when spotted points on the road:  the Wildcats are 5-8 ATS as a road ‘dog since 2014.  And the Tigers have the best ATS record in the SEC when laying points at home:  they are 37-23-1 ATS and a 15.8 margin of victory with Pearl at the helm.

Over/Under (O/U)

LET’S TAKE the OVER 142.5 (-121) in Kentucky-Auburn. The Tigers have a 6-4-1 over/under record at home and the Wildcats have a 4-0 O/U record on the road. Also, we like Auburn laying points in this spot so it’s good to note that their O/U record as a home favorite is 38-21-2 since 2014, which is an SEC high for overs in that period. Furthermore, Kentucky has a 8-5 O/U record as an away underdog in that time frame.

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Tennessee-Kansas all-time series

Tennessee-Kansas all-time series.

LAWRENCE — Tennessee is set to travel to Kansas Saturday and take on the Jayhawks in part of the 2020 Big12/SEC Challenge.

The contest will be the fifth time the Vols and Jayhawks meet on the hardwood with the last contest coming on Nov. 23, 2018.

The matchup in 2018 took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York during the NIT Season Tipoff. The Jayhawks defeated Tennessee, 87-81.

NCAA Basketball: Tennessee at Kansas
Jan 03, 2009; Lawrence, KS, USA; Tennessee forward Wayne Chism (4) goes up for the shot in the second period at Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS. Kansas won 92-85. Kansas won 92-85. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
NCAA Basketball: Kansas at Tennessee
Jan 10, 2010; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers coach Bruce Pearl celebrates the 76-68 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee and Kansas first played on Jan. 3, 2009 in Lawrence at Allen Fieldhouse. The Jayhawks won 92-85. The series’ second contest occurred on Jan. 10, 2010 in Knoxville as Tennessee was victorious, 76-68.

The third meeting was in Orlando, Fla. on Nov. 28, 2014 in the Orlando Classic. Kansas was victorious, 82-67.

Tipoff for Saturday’s contest is set for 4 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN. Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and Holly Rowe will have the call.

ESPN College GameDay will also air live from Lawrence ahead of the matchup. Rece Davis, Jay Bilas, LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg will be live from Allen Fieldhouse beginning at 11 a.m. ET on ESPN.