USC Upstate Spartans vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, 12/23/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: USC Upstate Spartans vs Tennessee Volunteers

Date: Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Location: Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, TN

TV: SECN

Odds/Point Spread: USC Upstate (+32)

The Tennessee Volunteers (5-0) host the USC Upstate Spartans (0-7) at Thompson-Boling Arena on Wednesday. Tennessee opens this matchup as 32-point favorites. The total opens at 140.5.

USC Upstate will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 0-7 on the year. They are averaging 70.4 points per contest (219th in the country) while connecting on 41.4% from the field. The Spartans are hitting 37.0% on shots beyond the perimeter (61 of 165) and 70.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, USC Upstate is snagging 31.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 97 assists for the year, which has them ranked 127th in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 16.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 20.1 fouls every game. When they are on defense, the Spartans are able to force 15.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.9 fouls. They are conceding 37.7% from 3-point land and they are 322nd in the nation in PPG allowed (86.7). The Spartans defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 49.8% (217 of 436) and they surrender 42.4 rebounds per contest as a unit. They currently rank 314th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 123 conceded this year.

The USC Upstate Spartans faced the UNC Greensboro Spartans and took a loss by a score of 65-57 in their last contest. USC Upstate ended having earned a 36.4% FG percentage (20 out of 55) and knocked down 7 out of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Spartans buried 10 of their 16 shots for a rate of 62.5%. When it comes to hauling in boards, they collected a total of 31 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 9 dimes for this contest as well as earning 5 steals and 2 blocked shots. With respect to the defense, USC Upstate allowed their opponent to shoot 36.4% from the floor on 20 out of 55. UNC Greensboro earned 11 assists and 4 steals for the game. Moreover, the Spartans collected 33 boards (7 offensive, 26 defensive) and added 2 blocked shots. UNC Greensboro finished the game at 68.8% when shooting free throws by making 11 of 16 shots. They also converted 6 out of their 20 tries from three-point range.

Tommy Bruner is a player who saw a lot of action for the game. He finished with 13 points on 5 out of 17 shooting. He played 36 minutes played and pulled down 8 boards. Bruner ended up shooting 29.4% from the field and also recorded 4 dimes. One more player that was a major factor in the game for the Spartans was Dalvin White. He pulled down 5 boards and earned 2 assists. He finished the game at 66.7% from the floor for the contest by going 4-of-6 (12 points). Overall, White saw the court for 28 minutes.

Tennessee has a mark of 5-0 so far this year. As an offensive unit, the Volunteers are connecting on 46.0% from the field, which is 140th in the nation. Tennessee has accounted for 405 pts on the campaign (81.0 per contest) and they collect 42.4 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 16.8 times per game (51st in college basketball) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.8 times per contest. The Volunteers commit 14.6 fouls every game and they shoot 79.0% from the charity stripe. The Volunteers on the defensive side of the court are 1st in college basketball in PPG given up with 51.2. They are forcing 18.2 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 34.3% from the floor (4th in college basketball). The Tennessee defense allows 24.8% on 3-pointers (30 of 121) and their opponents are connecting on 68.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 9.2 dimes and 30.4 rebounds every game, which is 23rd and 43rd in the nation.

The last time they took the court, the Tennessee Volunteers walked away with a victory by a final of 102-66 against the Saint Joseph's Hawks. The Volunteers were able to collect 31 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 42 for the contest. They turned away 5 attempts while earning 7 steals for the game. The Hawks were called for 30 fouls for the matchup which got the Volunteers to the charity stripe for 37 attempts. They were able to knock down 30 of them for a rate of 81.1%. When it comes to shots from distance, Tennessee knocked down 10 out of 24 tries (41.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Volunteers finished shooting 31 out of 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 50.0%. The Volunteers permitted the Hawks to knock down 23 of their 58 tries from the floor which left them shooting 39.7% for the game. They shot 20.8% from distance by connecting on 5 out of 24 and ended up going 15 out of 21 from the charity stripe (71.4%). In regard to rebounding, Tennessee allowed Saint Joseph's to get 24 in all (4 offensive).

Santiago Vescovi ended up having an impact for the Volunteers in this contest. He made 4 out of 9 in this game giving him a rate of 44.4%, which had him finishing with 16 points. Vescovi grabbed 7 rebounds in his 28 mins played and tallied 5 dimes for the contest. An additional guy that was pivotal for Tennessee was Yves Pons. He notched 13 points in 28 minutes on the court via 5 of 8 shooting in this matchup. Pons ended up shooting 62.5% from the field in addition to totaling 2 assists and 9 boards.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Tennessee (-32) and over 140.5 points

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here