Tennessee Volunteers vs South Carolina Gamecocks Prediction, 1/7/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs South Carolina Gamecocks

Date: Saturday, January 7, 2023

Location: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC

TV: SECN

The South Carolina Gamecocks (7-7) will compete against the Tennessee Volunteers (12-2) at Colonial Life Arena on Saturday.

The Tennessee Volunteers faced off with Mississippi State and notched a win by a score of 87-53 in their last game. Tennessee walked away from the game with a 69.2% FG percentage (36 out of 52) and knocked down 12 of their 21 shots from downtown. When they shot from the free throw line, the Volunteers converted 3 of their 3 tries for a rate of 100.0%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 34 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 28 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and earning 7 steals. When discussing defense, Tennessee allowed the other team to shoot 39.6% from the floor on 21 out of 53 shooting. Mississippi State recorded 12 assists and had 8 steals for the game. In addition, Mississippi State totaled 15 rebounds (7 offensive, 8 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Mississippi State went 41.2% when shooting free throws by converting 7 of their 17 tries. They also converted 4 out of their 18 shots from 3-point land. Concerning fouls, the Volunteers walked away with 18 and Mississippi State accounted for 10 fouls.

Santiago Vescovi is one guy who was a major contributor for this game. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists. He played 27 minutes played and also snagged 3 boards. He finished with 14 points on 4 out of 8 shooting.

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Tennessee heads into this contest with a mark of 12-2 for the season. They have an average of 74.7 points per outing (136th in D-1) while connecting on 43.6% from the field. The Volunteers are hitting 33.9% on 3-pointers (114 of 336) and 71.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Tennessee is pulling in 40.9 boards per contest and has totaled 250 assists for the year, which ranks 26th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 13.9 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.5 fouls per game.

On defense, the Volunteers have forced 17.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 19.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 6th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 120 surrendered on the year. The Volunteers are allowing a shooting percentage of 33.7% (251 of 745) and they relinquish 31.9 boards per game as a team. They give up 21.2% on shots from distance and they rank 3rd in college basketball in points per game allowed (53.2).

When they last stepped on the court, the South Carolina Gamecocks walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-79 against Vanderbilt. When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, South Carolina allowed Vanderbilt to snag 41 in all (13 offensive). They finished 36.8% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 7 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 23 out of 35 at the free throw line (65.7%). The Gamecocks permitted Vanderbilt to make 27 of 60 tries from the floor which had them shooting 45.0% in the game. At the conclusion of this game, the Gamecocks finished shooting 30 out of 72 from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.7%. Concerning shots from beyond the arc, South Carolina buried 9 of their 29 tries (31.0%). They were able to make 10 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. Vanderbilt was called for 15 personal fouls in the game which got the Gamecocks to the free throw line for a total of 15 shots. They also turned it over 10 times, while getting 4 steals in this game. The Gamecocks snagged 22 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 for the contest.

Chico Carter was important for the Gamecocks in this game. He converted 9 of 14 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and had 6 rebounds. He earned 24 points in his 36 minutes of playing time and had 4 dimes in this contest.

South Carolina has a mark of 7-7 for the season. The Gamecocks are committing 15.9 fouls per contest and they connect on 60.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 11.4 times per game (318th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.6 times per game. South Carolina has totaled 922 pts on the campaign (65.9 per game) and they grab 37.1 boards per game. As an offense, the Gamecocks are shooting 40.5% from the field, which ranks them 336th in D-1.

The Gamecocks are ranked 224th in D-1 in points given up per game with 70.1. They are able to force 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 45.8% from the field (317th in the nation). The South Carolina defense concedes 35.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (104 of 297) and opponents are converting on 64.1% of their free throw shots. They give up 13.8 assists and 33.9 rebounds per contest, which has them ranked 261st and 169th in college basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take South Carolina

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