The No. 19 Tennessee Volunteers look to win their 32nd consecutive home game on Saturday when they host the No. 13 Memphis Tigers in a heated in-state rivalry matchup at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Tigers (8-1), who placed fifth in the American Athletic Conference at 11-7 and 22-14 overall in 2018-19, are 1-0 on the road this season, while the Volunteers (7-1), who tied for second with Kentucky at 15-3 and were 31-6 overall last year, are 5-0 on their home court this season. The game is slated to start at 3 p.m. ET in Knoxville, Tenn. Tennessee is also looking to extend its winning streak over in-state foes to nine games. The Volunteers are six-point favorites in the latest Memphis vs. Tennessee odds, while the over-under for total points scored is set at 138.5. You'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model before laying any Tennessee vs. Memphis picks down.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread the past three years, returning $2,770 to $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Tennessee vs. Memphis. We can tell you that the model is leaning over, and has generated an against the spread pick that is hitting in over 50 percent of simulations. You can head to SportsLine to see it. Now, here are the college basketball betting lines and trends for Memphis vs. Tennessee:
- Tennessee vs. Memphis spread: Tennessee -6
- Tennessee vs. Memphis over-under: 138.5 points
- Tennessee vs. Memphis money line: Memphis +211, Tennessee -269
- MEM: Averaging 82.1 points per game
- TN: 95-51 under fifth-year coach Rick Barnes
Tennessee leads the SEC in scoring defense at 55.9 points per game and blocks per game at 6.0, which is 14th nationally. Senior guard Lamonte Turner leads the SEC and is fifth in the country with 7.6 assists per game, while the Volunteers are 25-9-2 against the spread in their last 36 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points.
Barnes will be shooting for his 700th career victory and ranks seventh among active head coaches. He would become the 22nd head coach to reach the 700 mark and is five wins away from reaching 100 wins at Tennessee.
Memphis, meanwhile, will be without star center James Wiseman (suspension) and guard Lester Quinones (hand) on Saturday.
But just because the Tigers are shorthanded and the Volunteers are 5-0 at home this season, does not guarantee they will win or cover the Tennessee vs. Memphis spread on Saturday.
The Tigers are shooting for their 20th straight winning season and have won 20 or more games in 16 of the past 19 and 30 or more in five of the past 14. They are 30-15 under second-year coach Penny Hardaway, but are looking for their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2013-14. Memphis is 5-2 against the spread in its last seven games following an against the spread loss.
With Wiseman out, Memphis has gotten sold productions from forwards Precious Achiuwa (13.9 ppg) and D.J. Jeffries (12.0 ppg). The Tigers will look for big games from them against a relatively undersized Tennessee squad.
So who wins Memphis vs. Tennessee? And which side of the spread can you bank on in over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Tennessee vs. Memphis spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up more than $2,700 on its college basketball picks the last three years, and find out.
