Tennessee Volunteers vs LSU Tigers Prediction, 1/8/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs LSU Tigers

Date: Saturday, January 8, 2022

Location: Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, LA

TV: ESPN2

The LSU Tigers (13-1) are welcoming the Tennessee Volunteers (10-3) at Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Saturday.

The Tennessee Volunteers took the court against Ole Miss and walked away with a win by a score of 66-60 in their last game. Tennessee wrapped up the game having earned a 39.1% FG percentage (25 of 64) and buried 10 of their 34 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Volunteers knocked down 6 of 8 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. In terms of getting rebounds, they collected 32 with 9 of them being offensive. They also distributed 21 dimes in this matchup while forcing the other team into 22 turnovers and having 17 steals. When talking about defense, Tennessee allowed 44.0% from the floor on 22 out of 50 shooting. Ole Miss distributed 14 assists and had 12 steals in this game. Furthermore, Ole Miss pulled down 31 boards (4 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Ole Miss shot 62.5% from the charity stripe by making 5 of their 8 attempts. They converted 11 of 22 tries from long range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Volunteers ended up finishing with 13 while Ole Miss accumulated 13 personal fouls.

Santiago Vescovi is one guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He finished with 17 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He played for 42 mins played and totaled 6 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 41.7% from the field and also distributed 5 assists.

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Tennessee enters this one with a record of 10-3 on the season. They are averaging 76.6 pts per game (85th in Division 1) while shooting 43.9% from the floor. The Volunteers are shooting 32.5% on three-point attempts (121 of 372) and 70.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Tennessee is collecting 38.2 rebounds per game and is sitting with 236 dimes on the year, which has them ranked 24th in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 11.5 times per game and as a unit they are committing 15.2 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Volunteers have forced 18.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.6 fouls. They surrender 31.5% from beyond the arc and they rank 27th in college basketball in points per game allowed (60.4). The Volunteers are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 39.4% (282 of 715) and they relinquish 34.8 boards per contest as a group. They rank 89th in college basketball in giving up assists with 144 surrendered for the year.

For their last game, the LSU Tigers got the victory with a final of 65-60 when they played Kentucky. The Tigers corralled 30 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 35 for the game. They gave up possession of the ball 15 times, while recording 10 steals for this game. Kentucky committed 15 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Tigers to the free throw line for 15 tries. They were able to convert 8 of those for a percentage of 53.3%. Concerning shots from downtown, LSU knocked down 9 of their 23 tries (39.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Tigers finished shooting 24 for 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1%. The Tigers permitted Kentucky to bury 21 of 58 tries from the field which had them sitting at 36.2% for the game. They shot 33.3% from three-point range by going 8 of 24 and ended up shooting 10 of 20 from the free throw line (50.0%). Regarding rebounds, LSU allowed Kentucky to grab 35 in total (10 on the offensive glass).

Tari Eason pitched in for the Tigers for this game. He accumulated 13 points in his 29 minutes on the court and accounted for 3 dimes for the contest. He made 4 out of 9 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 44.4%, and totaled 6 rebounds.

LSU has a win-loss record of 13-1 this season. The Tigers are committing 17.1 fouls per game and they go 73.8% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 13.3 times per game (186th in college basketball) and they are giving up possession 14.1 times per contest. LSU has totaled 1,075 points for the campaign (76.8 per contest) and they pull down 41.5 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Tigers are shooting 44.7% from the floor, which has them ranked 164th in college basketball.

The Tigers on the defensive end are ranked 5th in Division 1 in points per game surrendered with 55.6. They are forcing 19.3 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 34.7% from the floor (1st in college hoops). The LSU defense gives up 26.7% on 3-point shots (99 of 371) and opponents are knocking down 63.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 10.9 assists and 34.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 79th and 173rd in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Tennessee

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