The last time the Tennessee Volunteers and Kansas Jayhawks crossed paths on the hardwood, Dedric Lawson helped lead Bill Self’s squad to the thrilling 87-81 win in overtime as 3-point favorites in the finals of the NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center a season ago. While he’s no longer on the team, Kansas still ranks out amongst the best teams in the country currently checking in as the No. 1 team in the country per the most recent Pomeroy Ratings. The same can’t and won’t be said about Rick Barnes’ Vols who rank No. 50 overall and already have six losses to their name. Maybe the suspensions handed down on Kansas keep this game a bit more interesting than they would originally had both teams been able to play at full strength.
This Big 12/SEC Challenge showdown takes place on Saturday, January 25, 2020. Tip-off will be at 4 p.m. ET from the Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. So make sure to fill out your March Madness Bracket today!
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Odds Analysis
The Volunteers enter this tilt in fine form for college basketball bettors at online sportsbooks having logged wins in four of their last five games against Mizzou, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss; they went on to cover the closing number in three of those matchups. John Fulkerson had himself a game last time out erupting for 18 points and 10 rebounds on 7 of 8 shooting to help lead Tennessee to the decisive 73-48 pounding of the Rebels that saw many a sharp bettor fading the Vols minus the points. Most impressive however was the defense that only allowed the Rebs to convert 30 percent of their 63 attempted shots from the field. Since allowing the LSU Tigers to drop 78 points on their heads back on January 7, the team has played a lockdown brand of defense in allowing just 57.4 points per game since.
The Jayhawks have had one heck of an interesting season to this point. It all started with Snoop Dog drinking his gin and juice on the hallowed grounds of the Allen Fieldhouse’s hardwood with a bunch of strippers. From there, they dropped a tough 2-point decision to Coach K and the Duke Blue Devils but went on to follow it up by defeating Chaminade, BYU and Dayton to win the Maui Invitational; the win over the now No. 4 Flyers came in overtime. The team didn’t suffer another defeat until traveling to Villanova where Jay Wright got the best of them once again. A few weeks later saw the Baylor Bears go into the Phog and secure the program’s first-ever win over KU. The team hasn’t lost since, but it could start to face some adversity due to a lack of depth because of the melee that ensued at the end of their 81-60 beat down of K-Suck.
Suspensions
Udoka Azubuike will be without his replacement for the next two games after David McCormack was suspended for the role he played in the fracas following the conclusion of Super Tuesday’s home tilt against the in-state rival Kansas State Wildcats. After coming off the bench to get some swings in, it’s surprising the Big 12 only saw it fit to sit him for such an inconsequential amount of time. Riding the pine will be his 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds, but more importantly, KU will be forced to go with an unknown whenever “Dok” needs a blow. Also missing time will be Silvio De Sousa who started the whole bench clearing brawl after standing over K-State’s DaJuan Gordon after swatting away his end-game shot attempt down 20+ points.
Prediction
The Jayhawks have gone on to win and cover three of the four skirmishes between these clubs dating back to the 2009 season. Three of the four matchups played to high scorers, though last year’s showdown ultimately needed an extra session to get there for over bettors. The Vols haven’t been much to write home about at the offensive end of the court this year, but that was to be expected with the amount of firepower lost from last year’s Round of 32 team. What they have done well however is play defense with its efficiency clocking in at No. 21 overall. Though it’s come against the No. 102 ranked opponent offense, I’m curious to see how Self plays this one knowing full well he won’t have the production of McCormack coming off the bench should Azubuike need a breather or get into foul trouble. So long as Tennessee doesn’t allow Devon Dotson and the rest of KU’s sharpshooters to go bonkers from deep, they should be able to keep the overall scoring to a minimum and compete all the way through in a likely low scorer.
College Basketball Pick: Kansas 75, Tennessee 67
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