The Butler Bulldogs (3-1) are in Nassau, Bahamas, for a showdown with the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers (2-1) in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament Wednesday. Tip-off from Imperial Arena is at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Butler vs. Tennessee odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Tennessee is well-rested as it hasn’t played since an 81-50 win against Florida Gulf Coast last Wednesday. The young season has seen wins against Florida Gulf Coast and Tennessee Tech and a loss against an uneven Colorado team that was coming off a loss to the Grambling Tigers in its prior game.
Butler comes in after crushing Citadel 89-42 in its last game Saturday. The only loss for the Bulldogs was a 68-62 road defeat at Penn State Nov. 14. The Bulldogs have scored at least 89 points in each of their 3 other games while winning by an average of 37 points.
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Butler 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 12:17 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Off the board
- Against the spread (ATS): Butler -7.5 (-110) | Tennessee +7.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 135.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Butler vs. Tennessee picks and predictions
Prediction
Butler 76, Tennessee 73
Moneyline
Off the board.
Against the spread
BET TENNESSEE +7.5 (-110).
Despite not playing in a week, the Volunteers should not be underdogs by more than 7 points in this matchup.
The Volunteers — ranked No. 21 in the nation — took a tough loss against Colorado but came back win an emphatic win against Florida Gulf Coast. While I do not feel the Vols have the offensive firepower to hang with Butler, they will score enough to make it a game in the end. I will take TENNESSEE +7.5 (-110).
Over/Under
BET OVER 135.5 (-115).
Butler has scored 89 or more points in 3 of its 4 games this season. Tennessee scored 90 in its last outing against Florida Gulf Coast and will need to score again here to keep up with Butler.
While Butler will not get to 89 against Tennessee, it should be able to get close to 80 and so should Tennessee. The 135.5 number is about 5 points too low and is an excellent value. The OVER 135.5 (-115) is my favorite play in the game.
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