Samford vs. Tennessee Prediction
The Tennessee Volunteers have risen to third in the rankings and are big favorites at home tonight versus the Samford Bulldogs. Will Tennessee cruise to a victory and cover the spread?
Game Snapshot
731 Samford Bulldogs at 732 Tennessee Volunteers
Wednesday, December 19, 2018
Thompson-Boling Arena at 7PM ET
TV: SECN+
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Public etting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Volunteers are a 22.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 149 points. As of Wednesday morning, 54 percent of public bets are coming in on visiting Samford. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest information.
Bulldogs record third straight win
Samford improved to 10-2 on the season Monday night with an 85-61 home win over Houston Baptist. The Bulldogs led 42-29 at halftime and continued to dominate after the break en route to the win. Josh Sharkey paced Samford with 24 points on 6-of-12 shooting including a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point distance and 7-of-10 at the free throw line. He also notched five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Brandon Austin tallied 22 points, three boards and two steals. Robert Allen added 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Samford shot 12-of-24 as a team from 3-point range in the triumph.
Volunteers down rival Tigers
Tennessee won its fourth straight game Saturday afternoon with a 102-92 decision in a testy contest against Memphis. Admiral Schofield led the Vols (8-1) with a game-best 29 points on 8-of-12 shooting including 4-of-8 at the free throw line plus a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line. Grant Williams contributed 19 points, five assists, four rebounds and two blocked shots. Jordan Bone tallied 17 points and three assists. Jordan Bowden tallied 12 points off the bench plus six assists and five rebounds. Kyle Alexander added 10 points along with nine boards and four blocks. Tennessee led 50-35 at halftime and shot 27-of-52 from the free throw line plus 39-of-46 at the charity stripe.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Samford
The Bulldogs are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall. The under is 7-2 in the last nine Samford games overall.
Tennessee
The Volunteers are 2-5-1 ATS in their last eight games versus the Southern Conference. The under is 7-1-2 in the last 10 Tennessee games versus the Southern Conference.
Prediction:
Tennessee is coming off an emotional win against an in-state rival, which is often a spot I look at in targeting an opponent the next game in hopes of a letdown. Samford is having a nice season so far with plenty of wins against subpar competition, along with an 18-point loss to a good Ohio State game and an overtime defeat versus a solid Belmont squad. I think the spread is big enough to look at the Bulldogs’ side of the equation here. My money is on the underdog.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: SAMFORD BULLDOGS +22.5