Coach Sean Miller’s departure from Arizona has left considerable doubt about the future of the Wildcats. During his time in Tempe, Miller was a big winner, but it was under a cloud of scandal. There were multiple accusations of serious NCAA violations regarding recruiting, etc. Of course, not long after that, the “rules” changed in that there are no rules, and the NCAA has been rendered utterly feckless. Stepping into this mess as Miller’s replacement is Tommy Lloyd. Lloyd’s original plan in life was to replace Mark Few as the Gonzaga head coach. In fact, he had a written guarantee that he would do just that. But the lure of taking over a traditional power at Arizona proved irresistible.
The Tennessee Volunteers will host the Arizona Wildcats at Thompson Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. This game will take place on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, at 7 p.m. ET, with television coverage on ESPN2.
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Odds Analysis
Arizona remains one of the blueblood name brands of college basketball. Despite all of the noise about their problems with the NCAA, gamblers realize that the sport has entered a lawless period in its history. Thus, the Wildcats will get their share of support. In particular, Wise Guys love to take good programs on the road because of the consistently better prices in that specific situation. By contrast, the Tennessee Volunteers are a consistently ranked SEC program that makes the NCAA Tournament regularly. As a quality home team, they’ll draw a lot of casual money.
Arizona Wildcats
Arizona has lost only one of their previous seven games against the spread. The Wildcats are 5-1 over the total in their last six games. The Wildcats are ranked 8th in the country.
Overall, Arizona has a record of 11-0 straight up, 8-2-1 against the spread, and 8-3 over the total. Arizona is the top-ranked scoring team in college basketball. Further, the Wildcats ranks 1st in the land for offensive rebounding. Defensively, Arizona is 75th in the nation for points allowed and 83rd for rebounding. The Wildcats rank 11th in the country for field goal percentage. Also, Arizona is 6th defensively for opposition field goal percentage.
Tennessee Volunteers
Late on, Tennessee has gotten the cash in four of their previous five games. Four of those five contests went under the total. The Vols are ranked 18th in the country,
Tennessee brings a record of 8-2 straight up, 6-4 against the spread, and 5-5 over/under. NCAABB metrics show Tennessee ranked 62nd for scoring, 75th for offensive rebounding, 17th for points allowed, and 134th for defensive rebounding. Tennessee has ugly marks of 170th in the nation for 3-point shooting and 221st for free throw percentage. Defensively the Volunteers are much more impressive, with a mark of 24th for opposition field goal percentage.
Guard Kennedy Chandler leads the Volunteers with 14.6 points and 5.4 assists per game. Another guard, Santiago Vescovi, is averaging 13.1 points per contest. Meanwhile, forward Olivier Nkamhoua averages 9.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Also, forward John Fulkerson averages 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes was fired by Texas, where he coached from 1998-99 through 2014-15. A struggling Tennessee program immediately hired Barnes and was in the Big Dance by his third year. Barnes took the Vols to the Sweet Sixteen in 2018-19. However, Barnes has a reputation for being ‘Regular Season Rick.” Getting into the NCAA Tournament has never been a problem for Barnes. But advancing through March Madness has proven to be problematic.
Arizona vs. Tennessee Prediction
For pure gambling value, it's hard to beat a quality team playing on the road. There is no way Arizona would offer such value playing at home.
BookMaker Pick: Arizona Wildcats
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