Halftime Report

Only one more half stands between Tennessee and the win they were favored to collect coming into this evening. They are fully in control with a 43-18 lead over Norfolk State.

Tennessee entered the matchup having won five straight and they're just one half away from another. Will they make it six, or will Norfolk State step up and spoil it? We'll know soon.

Who's Playing

Norfolk State Spartans @ Tennessee Volunteers

Current Records: Norfolk State 9-6, Tennessee 9-3

How To Watch

What to Know

If the oddsmakers' predictions hold true, the near future looks bright for Tennessee. After both having extra time off, the Tennessee Volunteers and the Norfolk State Spartans will dust off their jerseys to challenge one another at 7:00 p.m. ET on January 2nd at Thompson-Boling Arena. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.

Tennessee came tearing into two weeks ago's match with four straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.8 points) and they left with even more momentum. They put the hurt on the Texans with a sharp 65-46 victory. Winning is a bit easier when your three-point shooting is a whole 22.9% better than the opposition, as Tennessee's was.

Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler were among the main playmakers for Tennessee as the former scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and five assists and the latter scored 13 points along with five assists.

Meanwhile, the Spartans got the win against the Jackrabbits two weeks ago by a conclusive 84-65.

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Norfolk State to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jamarii Thomas, who scored 13 points along with five assists and three steals. Thomas hasn't dropped below three steals for four straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of George Beale Jr., who scored 14 points.

The Volunteers' win was their ninth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 9-3. They've been dominating during the matches in that stretch too, as they've won by an average of 21.22 points. As for the Spartans, their win bumped their record up to 9-6.

Fans should be in for an exciting game on Tuesday as Tennessee and Norfolk State are among the highest scoring teams in the league right now. Tennessee hasn't had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 77.1 points per game. However, it's not like Norfolk State struggles in that department as they've been averaging 75.7 points per game. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.

Odds

Tennessee is a big 24-point favorite against Norfolk State, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Volunteers as a 24.5-point favorite.


The over/under is set at 139 points.

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