The No. 5 seed Tennessee Volunteers will try to build on their double-digit win over Ole Miss when they face the No. 4 seed Missouri Tigers in the quarterfinals of the 2023 SEC Tournament on Friday afternoon. Tennessee began its tournament title defense with a 70-55 win on Thursday. Missouri is coming off a double bye after finishing as one of the top four teams in the conference during the regular season.
Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. The Volunteers are favored by 5.5 points in the latest Missouri vs. Tennessee odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 140. Before entering any Tennessee vs. Missouri picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week at 76-51 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Missouri vs. Tennessee. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Tennessee vs. Missouri:
- Missouri vs. Tennessee spread: Tennessee -5.5
- Missouri vs. Tennessee over/under: 140 points
- Missouri vs. Tennessee money line: Missouri +205, Tennessee -250
- Missouri vs. Tennessee picks: See picks here
Featured Game | Missouri Tigers vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Why Missouri can cover
Missouri comes into this game with a rest advantage, as it has not played since beating Ole Miss last Saturday. The Tigers closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak, picking up a pair of road wins during that stretch. They also upset Tennessee as 12.5-point road underdogs when DeAndre Gholston drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on Feb. 11.
The Tigers finished 14 of 26 from beyond the arc in that game, despite facing the top-ranked 3-point defense. Kobe Brown, who averages team highs in points (15.9) and rebounds (6.2), earned All-SEC First Team honors. Missouri is averaging 80.1 points per game under first-year head coach Dennis Gates, posting the most wins in a season since 2013-14 and nearly doubling its total from last year.
Why Tennessee can cover
Tennessee is comfortable playing at Bridgestone Arena, winning last year’s SEC Tournament and getting off to a hot start with a comfortable win over Ole Miss on Thursday. The Vols shot 47.1% from the floor and held a 38-22 advantage in rebounds to go along with their elite defense. Senior guard Santiago Vescovi scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, making three 3-pointers for the eighth time in nine games.
Senior guard Josiah-Jordan James scored 20 points, marking his second-highest point total of the year and his most since returning from a three-week injury absence last month. Missouri took advantage of a weak schedule down the stretch, but it struggled against the top teams in the SEC for most of the season. The Tigers have only covered the spread three times in their last nine games, and this spread is significantly lower than when they played Tennessee in Knoxville.
How to make Tennessee vs. Missouri picks
The model has simulated Missouri vs. Tennessee 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over on the total, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Tennessee vs. Missouri? And which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is 76-51 on its top-rated college basketball picks this season, and find out.
