South Carolina vs Tennessee 1/7/23 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Tennessee Volunteers and the South Carolina Gamecocks meet Saturday in college basketball action from Colonial Life Arena. Tennessee is 12-2 so far this year. The Volunteers beat Mississippi State in their last game. As for South Carolina, they’re 7-7 on the season following a loss to Vanderbilt. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Tennessee lost just one of their first 10 games, a 78-66 affair versus Colorado. After another loss to Arizona on December 17, the Volunteers have beaten Austin Peay, Ole Miss and Mississippi State in succession. 

In the Mississippi State game, the Volunteers stormed out to a 46-22 edge by halftime. Tennessee kept it up with a 41-31 second half and won the game 87-53. Santiago Vescovi led the way on 14 points and three rebounds. 

Over on the South Carolina side, they were 5-5 after 10 games with losses to Colorado State, Davidson, Furan, George Washington and UAB. The Gamecocks are 2-2 since then with losses to East Carolina and Vanderbilt. 

Matched up against the Commodores on Tuesday, the Gamecocks took the game to overtime but were outscored 17-12 from there and lost 84-79. Chico Carter led the team on 24 points, and Meechie Johnson added 18 points. 

PICK: I’ll probably stay with Tennessee. The Volunteers dismantled a very good Mississippi State team in their last outing, shooting a blistering 69.2 percent from the field and posting a 34-10 rebounding advantage. Tennessee has had a close call or two lately, but overall they’re playing very well this season. As for South Carolina, they’re coming off a tough-luck loss to Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks have played reasonably well over the last three games, but I don’t think they’ll hang around with Tennessee for very long.