The East Tennessee State Buccaneers (0-1) and Tennessee Volunteers (1-0) meet Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN. Tip-off is scheduled for noon ET. Below, we look at the East Tennessee State vs. Tennessee odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Buccaneers headed over the mountains and suffered a 69-67 loss at Appalachian State in the season opener, just missing a cover as 2.5-point underdogs as the Over connected.
The Volunteers opened with a 90-62 thrashing of UT-Martin at Thompson-Boling, although they failed to cover a 35-point number. The Over hit. G Kennedy Chandler and G Santiago Vescovi each scored 20 points in the win.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
East Tennessee State at Tennessee odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 11 p.m. ET.
- Money line: East Tennessee State +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000) | Tennessee -2500 (bet $2,500 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): East Tennessee State +16.5 (-112) | Tennessee -16.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 136.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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East Tennessee State at Tennessee odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Tennessee 84, East Tennessee State 61
Money line
Tennessee (-2500) is not going to lose this intra-state game against East Tennessee State (+1000), but there is no value risking 30 times your potential return.
PASS and check out the spread.
Against the spread
TENNESSEE -16.5 (-108) is a good play on the number. The Vols thrashed the Skyhawks last time out, while the Bucs struggled in Boone against App State.
ETSU is going to have a ton of trouble early against the ranked Vols, especially due to the disparity in size down low. But Tennessee has tremendous guard play, too, and they can beat you a number of ways.
Over/Under
OVER 136.5 (-107) is the best play on the board in this matinee battle.
Both teams hit the Over in the opener, with Tennessee dropping 90 on UT-Martin. You can expect similar production here, as ETSU’s defense is not going to be able to slow the Vols down due to a lack of size in the paint.
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