Tennessee Volunteers vs Arizona Wildcats Prediction, 12/17/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Arizona Wildcats

Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022

Location: McKale Center in Tucson, AZ

TV: ESPN2

The Arizona Wildcats (9-1) will try to beat the Tennessee Volunteers (9-1) at McKale Center on Saturday.

The Tennessee Volunteers took the court against Maryland and notched a win by a score of 56-49 in their last game. Tennessee ended the contest with a 28.8% FG percentage (19 out of 66) and converted 7 of their 21 3-pointers. From the free throw line, the Volunteers made 11 of 21 tries for a percentage of 52.4%. When talking about hauling in boards, they earned 46 with 20 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 12 assists in this contest in addition to creating 15 turnovers and earning 6 steals. In terms of defending, Tennessee allowed the other team to shoot 22.1% from the floor on 15 out of 68 shooting. Maryland recorded 6 assists and had 9 steals in this contest. Moreover, Maryland collected 34 boards (16 offensive, 18 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Maryland finished the contest at 72.2% from the free throw line by knocking down 13 of their 18 tries. They made 6 out of their 35 shots from distance. In relation to personal fouls, the Volunteers finished with 21 and Maryland finished the game with 30 personal fouls.

Zakai Zeigler is someone who came through for the contest. He recorded 12 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 25 minutes and also pulled down 3 rebounds. He finished the contest at 38.5% from the field and dished out 3 dimes.

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Tennessee enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 9-1 for the year. They are averaging 74.0 points per game (155th in college basketball) while shooting 40.1% from the field. The Volunteers are hitting 32.5% on three-point shots (83 of 255) and 72.3% from the free throw line. As a unit, Tennessee is snagging 42.4 boards per game and has accounted for 168 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 71st in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 14.1 times per contest and as a group they are committing 16.1 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Volunteers are forcing 19.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 21.3 fouls. They are conceding 20.2% on 3-point shots and they are 3rd in D-1 in opponents PPG (51.4). The Volunteers are allowing a field goal percentage of 32.7% (174 of 532) and they concede 33.6 rebounds per game as a squad. They rank 3rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 76 surrendered so far this year.

In their last game, the Arizona Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 99-75 against Texas A&M Community College. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Arizona permitted Texas A&M Community College to get 30 in total (10 on the offensive glass). They wrapped up this game 40.0% from three-point range by shooting 10 out of 25 and ended up shooting 7 of 9 at the free throw line (77.8%). The Wildcats permitted Texas A&M Community College to bury 29 of their 69 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 42.0% for the contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Wildcats went 34 for 60 from the floor which had them shooting 56.7%. With respect to 3-pointers, Arizona converted 15 of 27 tries (55.6%). They were able to knock down 16 of them for a percentage of 69.6%. Texas A&M Community College had 19 personal fouls in the game which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 23 shots. They coughed up the ball 15 times, while earning 8 steals in this game. The Wildcats were able to collect 40 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 49 in this game.

Azuolas Tubelis ended up being important for the Wildcats in this game. He buried 9 of 16 for this game for a field goal rate of 56.3%, and earned 13 rebounds. He tallied 20 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood and had 4 dimes for the contest.

Arizona has a win-loss record of 9-1 so far this year. The Wildcats are committing 18.3 fouls every game and they go 72.0% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 21.5 times per game (1st in the nation) and they are giving up possession 14.6 times per contest. Arizona has 920 points this season (92.0 per game) and they average 42.5 boards per contest. As an offensive team, the Wildcats are shooting 54.7% from the floor, which is ranked 1st in the country.

The Arizona defense allows 34.3% on shots from 3-point land (87 of 254) and opponents are connecting on 67.4% of their free throw shots. They concede 12.7 assists and 32.3 boards per game, which ranks them 196th and 84th in college basketball. The Wildcats are ranked 327th in the nation in PPG surrendered with 75.7. They are forcing 11.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.3% from the field (77th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tennessee

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