Tennessee Volunteers vs Memphis Tigers Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Memphis Tigers

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN2

The Memphis Tigers (6-4) welcome the Tennessee Volunteers (8-2) at Bridgestone Arena on Saturday.

The Tennessee Volunteers stepped onto the hardwood against USC Upstate and walked away with a win by a score of 96-52 in their last contest. Tennessee ended the contest having earned a 55.9% field goal percentage (38 of 68) and buried 11 of 25 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Volunteers converted 9 of their 16 shots for a rate of 56.3%. In reference to getting rebounds, they earned a total of 43 with 15 of them being offensive. They also recorded 29 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 21 turnovers and earning 15 steals. With respect to defending, Tennessee allowed their opponent to shoot 36.4% from the floor on 20 of 55 shooting. USC Upstate distributed 8 assists and had 5 steals for the contest. On top of that, USC Upstate snagged 27 boards (8 offensive, 19 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. USC Upstate finished shooting 46.2% at the charity stripe by burying 6 of 13 attempts. They also buried 6 out of their 22 shots from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Volunteers ended up with 15 while USC Upstate recorded 18 personal fouls.

Olivier Nkamhoua is a player who was a major factor in this contest. He finished shooting 90.0% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 21 mins and totaled 8 boards. He racked up 21 points on 9 of 10 shooting.

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Tennessee comes into this game with a record of 8-2 so far this season. They are averaging 78.5 pts per contest (63rd in the country) while going 45.8% from the field. The Volunteers are hitting 34.0% on shots from 3-point land (97 of 285) and 69.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Tennessee is grabbing 38.8 boards per game and is sitting with 193 assists for the campaign, which is 15th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 10.7 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 15.0 personal fouls per game.

Defensively, the Volunteers are able to force 17.8 turnovers every game while drawing 14.5 personal fouls. They give up 30.7% on 3-point shots and they are 17th in the nation in opponents PPG (57.9). The Volunteers are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.0% (208 of 547) and they relinquish 33.9 rebounds per contest as a team. They are 58th in college basketball in giving up assists with 103 surrendered this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Memphis Tigers took home the win by a final score of 92-78 against Alabama. The Tigers snagged 17 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards for a total of 28 for this game. They gave up possession 17 times, while getting 12 steals in the game. Alabama was called for 20 fouls for this contest which took the Tigers to the charity stripe for 25 attempts. They were able to make 20 of them for a clip of 80.0%. In regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Memphis buried 8 out of their 23 tries (34.8%). When the game finished, the Tigers finished the game shooting 32 for 60 from the field which gave them a rate of 53.3%. The Tigers permitted Alabama to make 30 out of their 65 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 46.2% for this contest. They went 30.3% from beyond the arc by going 10 of 33 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 12 at the free throw line (66.7%). Regarding rebounds, Memphis allowed Alabama to get 29 in total (14 on the offensive side).

Deandre Williams was important for the Tigers for the matchup. He made 7 out of 10 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 70.0%, and tallied 3 rebounds. He recorded 20 points in his 33 mins on the court and tallied 6 assists in the game.

Memphis has a record of 6-4 so far this year. As an offense, the Tigers are shooting 47.4% from the floor, which is ranked 55th in the nation. Memphis has scored 777 pts this season (77.7 per contest) and they grab 38.5 boards per contest. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.9 times per contest (86th in the nation) and they cough up possession 18.4 times per contest. The Tigers are responsible for committing 20.1 personal fouls per contest and they go 68.1% from the charity stripe.

The Tigers defensively are ranked 202nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 69.2. They have forced 17.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 38.7% from the floor (38th in college hoops). The Memphis defense allows 31.3% on shots from beyond the arc (75 of 240) and opponents are making 68.6% of their free throw shots. They have conceded 12.4 dimes and 34.4 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 176th and 168th in the country.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tennessee

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