Two of the bottom teams is the SEC standings face off on Wednesday in Knoxville as the Tennessee Volunteers host the South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Tennessee Volunteers have won three of their last five games and Cuonzo Martin’s team has a chance to get back to .500 overall with a win in this one. Tennessee is 3-5 in the SEC, 10-3 at home this season, and tied with LSU for eighth place in the conference standings. Trae Golden is averaging 12.9 points and 4.6 assists, Jeronne Maymon is averaging 11.9 points and 8.0 rebounds, and Jordan McRae is averaging 8.5 points. As a team Tennessee is averaging 68.6 points and they are shooting 43.8 percent while defensively they are allowing 65.9 points and their opponents are shooting 42.1 percent. Tennessee is having a down year but this program will return to the big time and it shouldn’t take them too long.

The South Carolina Gamecocks have lost three games in a row but that is just a small part of how bad this season has been for Darrin Horn and his team. SC is 1-7 in the SEC, 1-5 on the road overall, and they are tied for 11^th and last place in the conference with Georgia. Malik Cooke is averaging 12.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, Bruce Ellington is averaging 10.6 points, and Anthony Gill is averaging 8.5 points and 4.9 rebounds. As a team South Carolina is averaging 62.5 points and they are shooting 41.4 percent while defensively they are allowing 64.3 points and their opponents are shooting 44.5 percent. Even with a strong finish South Carolina will have trouble finishing over .500 for the year.

Tennessee is 6-0-1 against the spread in their last seven home games, 5-1-1 against the spread against a team with a losing record, and 1-3-1 against the spread following a win. South Carolina is 4-1 against the spread in their last five road games, 3-8 against the spread following a loss, and 1-6 against the spread following a double digit home loss. The underdog has covered in five of the last seven meetings of these two.

The total in this one is set at 121.5 and it should get past that number in a somewhat sloppy fashion. My stronger play is on who will cover the spread and I’ll post that in the Premium Area.