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For the first time ever, the Tennessee State Tigers and the Texas Longhorns will square off this Monday. Tennessee State has a decent chance to win the Ohio Valley this season and has done well in non-conference play. The Tigers are sitting at 5-3 and have been competitive in two of their three losses, a blowout by Kansas being the lone exception.
Texas heads into this one looking to pick up another win before traveling to Tuscaloosa at the end of the week to take on Alabama. The Longhorns dropped a tough one to Michigan earlier this week and need to start racking up wins if they want to get to the NCAA Tournament.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, December 18, 2017, at 9 p.m. ET at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Monday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Since Tennessee State plays in the OVC, we don’t see many of their games lined. The Tigers failed to cover the number against both Kansas and Middle Tennessee State this season, but did pick up a nice win over Canisius.
Texas has done pretty poorly against the spread this year, but it’s not totally their fault. Although they have failed to cover in four straight games, the first two of those games went to overtime and that was the only reason the Longhorns didn’t cover as an underdog. Their last two games have each gone under the total and their defense totally shut down Michigan the last time we saw them step on the court.
Matchup to Watch
Shaka Smart’s Texas squad is all about defense and that unit has been great these last two games. The Longhorns held VCU to 40 percent shooting from the floor and forced 11 turnovers in a win last week and did virtually the same thing against Michigan a few days ago. The Wolverines shot 40 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 10 times in that one.
The numbers spell out just how good this defense is. Texas is allowing just 63.2 PPG and opponents are knocking down only 38 percent of their shots against the Longhorns this season. Even better, teams have been unable to hit threes against these guards, making under 29 percent of their attempts.
Tennessee State is going to have a hard time scoring against this defense. The Tigers are hitting just 41.8 percent of their shots this season and have not played a team that is this good on the defensive side of the ball.
Player to Watch
I talked about Mohamed Bamba the last time I wrote about Texas and I’m about to do so again. Bamba is just a special talent. His 7’9 wingspan is fully utilized in Smart’s offense and he plays havoc on passing lanes.
That also means he is a great shotblocker and we have seen him punish big men time and time again this year. Bamba is one of the leading shotblockers in the country with four blocks per game.
He isn’t just a defensive superstar either. Bamba is averaging a triple double this year and has been more than competent no matter who the Longhorns are playing. However, he does need to watch his fouls.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Both teams will play a game before this one tips. Tennessee State has to play North Carolina A&T on Friday, while Texas will take on Louisiana Tech on Saturday.
This is going to be a low scoring game that Texas dominates from start to finish on the back of its defense. The Longhorns need to start making statements in these games and will do so.
College Basketball Odds: Texas 76, Tennessee State 58
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