Tennessee vs Western Carolina Prediction 12-17-24 College Basketball Picks
Western Carolina (3-6) vs. Tennessee (10-0)
December 17, 2024 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Tennessee -36; Over/Under: +142.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Western Carolina Catamounts and the Tennessee Volunteers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Thompson-Boling Arena. Here’s a Tennessee vs Western Carolina prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Tennessee vs Western Carolina pick.
Western Carolina Catamounts Betting Preview
The Catamounts took a 2-4 record through their first six games, falling to Queens, Wake Forest, Florida State and Marquette in that time. Western Carolina would beat Bellarmine before losses to USC Upstate and UNC Asheville.
In the UNC Asheville game on Saturday, the Catamounts were down 42-33 by halftime. Western Carolina didn’t get any closer than that in a 78-61 loss. Marcus Kell came off the bench to lead the team on 11 points and two rebounds.
Tennessee Volunteers Betting Preview
Over on the Vols’ side, they haven’t had any blemishes yet this year. Tennessee has beaten Gardner-Webb, Louisville, Montana, Austin Peay, Virginia, Baylor, TN-Martin, Syracuse, Miami and Illinois in succession so far.
Tennessee played their closest game of the year versus a scrappy Illinois team on Saturday. The Volunteers turned a one-point halftime lead into an eventual 66-64 road win. Jordan Gainey came off the bench for 23 points and two rebounds to lead the way.
Why the Tennessee Volunteers will win
- Tennessee has won each of its last 42 night games against non-Conference opponents at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
- Western Carolina has lost each of its last five road games.
- Tennessee has won the first half in each of its last 28 night games against non-Conference opponents at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Why the Western Carolina Catamounts will win
- Western Carolina has won three of its last four night games following a road loss.
Tennessee vs Western Carolina Prediction
I’ll probably still lean toward Tennessee. The line’s too thick to mess with, though. Despite the gutsy win the Volunteers didn’t play great versus Illinois in their last outing, posting just 32.3 percent from the field. Tennessee held the Illini to just 29.4 percent shooting on the other side and had a 42-37 rebounding edge, though. It was only the second time all year that the Volunteers had finished below 75 points.
As for WCU, they shot a rough 39.3 percent with 15 turnovers in their latest loss to UNC Asheville. The Catamounts have been below 70 points in all six of their losses so far this year, and likely won’t get close to that number here either. I like Tennessee to stretch their legs in this one.
