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The Tennessee Volunteers take on the Arizona Wildcats. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Tennessee Arizona prediction and pick.
The Arizona Wildcats tripped up and stumbled against the Utah Utes a few weeks ago, but that performance was the aberration in the Cats' season to this point. Arizona enters this showdown 9-1 and looking like a top-15 team for sure, very possibly a top-five team. Any team is allowed one really bad day at the office. The key point is for those moments to not translate into continued bad habits or trends. Arizona successfully prevented that Utah loss, a 15-point drubbing in which nothing went right, from bleeding into the rest of the schedule.
Arizona faced a stiff test against Indiana one week ago, needing to put the memory of the ugly Utah game in the rearview mirror. The Wildcats responded with an authoritative win over the Hoosiers to get their season back on track. Arizona posted 89 points and looked like the high-octane team we saw last season, when the U of A won the Pac-12 championship and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd learned at Gonzaga how to build a highly athletic team with imposing big men who can run the floor and won't slow down a transition offense. That formula has been carried to Tucson. Last season, Christian Koloko joined Azuolas Tubelis to give Arizona an agile, productive, two-way frontcourt. This season, Oumar Ballo has been paired with Tubelis to give the Wildcats a mixture of toughness, defense, and skill. Arizona looks the part of a top team and will try to build on that reputation against Tennessee.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Tennessee-Arizona College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Tennessee-Arizona Odds
Tennessee Volunteers: +4.5 (-114)
Arizona Wildcats: -4.5 (-106)
Over: 150.5 (-110)
Under: 150.5 (-110)
Why Tennessee Could Cover the Spread
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The argument to make for Tennessee covering the spread is that its defense can contain Arizona's offense. Tennessee hangs it hat on defense. Rick Barnes-coached teams value their defensive acumen. This has always been the case. Tennessee handled Arizona's offense one year ago in a victory over the Wildcats. One can make the argument that last season's Arizona team, with Bennedict Mathurin and the aforementioned Christian Koloko, had more upside than this season's U of A team. If Tennessee could contain last season's Wildcats, it can handle this season's Arizona offense as well.
The other point to make is that in the early part of the season, with teams still trying to find a groove, Arizona is vulnerable to the kind of performance it suffered against Utah. Tennessee benefits from playing Arizona early in the season, rather than later on.
Why Arizona Could Cover the Spread
The Wildcats are playing at home. When they lost to Utah, that was a true road game. Arizona has not played many true road games. The Wildcats have played several neutral-court games. The Maui Invitational was a neutral-court tournament Arizona won. The Wildcats beat Indiana in Las Vegas. As long as the Wildcats aren't playing a true road game, they're in a good shape. They do well otherwise.
The other point to make is that Tennessee's offense can and will go through scoring droughts. This is the other side of Rick Barnes-coached teams. They do play strong defense, but they often struggle to score. Against Arizona in Tucson, that's asking for trouble. Tennessee's win last year was in a true home game for the Vols. Arizona had a bad game on the road. This time, playing at home, Arizona should be able to avenge its December 2021 loss versus Tennessee.
Final Tennessee-Arizona Prediction & Pick
Home court is the obvious deciding factor here. The Vols got Arizona in Knoxville one year ago. Now the tables are likely to turn.
Final Tennessee-Arizona Prediction & Pick: Arizona -4.5
