NCAA Tournament: Tennessee vs Longwood 3/17/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Longwood Lancers (26-6) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (26-7)
March 17, 2022 2:45 pm EDT
The Line: Tennessee Volunteers -17 ; Over/Under: 132.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Tennessee Volunteers and Longwood Lancers meet Thursday in NCAA Tournament First Round college basketball action from Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Longwood is 26-6 overall this season. The Lancers beat Winthrop in conference tourney activity Sunday. As for Tennessee, they’re 26-7 and coming off a win over Texas A&M. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Longwood was 7-5 back in late December. The Lancers have only lost one game since then, however. Since that defeat, Longwood has been on an eight-game win streak. They managed victories over NC A&T, SC Upstate and Winthrop in the conference tournament.
On Sunday versus Winthrop, the Lancers jumped out to a 45-27 lead by halftime. Longwood posted 34 more points in the second half and managed the win 79-58. Leading the way in scoring was Isaiah Wilkins with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Over on the Tennessee side, they haven’t lost consecutive games all year; the only down spot was a 2-3 run in January. The Volunteers are on a seven-game win streak right now; they beat Mississippi State, Kentucky and Texas A&M in the conference tourney.
Matched up against Texas A&M on Sunday, the Volunteers posted a nine-point lead by halftime. Tennessee kept it up with a 36-30 second half and got the win 65-50. Santiago Vescovi was the team’s leading scorer with 17 points and five assists.
PICK: I’m going to stay with Tennessee. It’s always tempting to take the proverbial dog in these situations, but the Volunteers have been an excellent team this season (and they’re a trendy pick to go deep in the tournament). During this win streak, Tennessee has posted 69 or more points in five of seven games. They shouldn’t have much trouble scoring here, either.
As for Longwood, they’ve been great this year as well. The Lancers have hit 70 or more points in seven of their last eight games and should still put up a relatively solid total in this one. I like this game to be a high-scoring blowout with Tennessee rolling to a cover.
