The No.7 Tennessee Volunteers and No.1 ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs will head for the desert on Sunday for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff of the Air Force Reserve Jerry Colangelo Classic at the Talking Stick Resort Arena.
Undefeated through eight games, the Bulldogs are trying to remain undefeated while the Vols have just one loss on their resume, to the team just behind Gonzaga in the AP, the Kansas Jayhawks. Can they have more success against the higher ranked team? Or, will the Zags continue to roll as they did past their last top-10 opponent when they beat Duke in a head-to-head matchup in Hawaii?
The Gonzaga non-conference schedule is loaded with top teams and this is just another example. It’s also likely the game of the weekend in this matchup of Top-10 programs.
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Tennessee Volunteers vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs
Date and Time: Sunday, December 9, 2018, 3 p.m. ET
Location: Talking Stick Resort Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
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Volunteers vs. Bulldogs TV Coverage: ESPN
The Bulldogs unseated the former No.1 Duke Blue Devils in November to grab the top spot and have held it since, remaining undefeated through contests against Illinois, Arizona, Duke, Creighton and Washington to this point. Next up is Tennessee.
The Volunteers, of course, are a challenge of their own. The team boasts a deep and talented front court highlighted by Grant Williams. Williams has 20.4 PPG, 8.9 RPG and 1.6 BPG. He’s shooting nearly 60-percent from the floor and is a talented outside shot as well.
Alexander, meanwhile, is a solid offensive performer, too, with more blocks and plenty of rebounds to help defend the paint.
While this team is stacked up front, it’s got its share of talent in the backcourt, too. Admiral Schofield, for one, is leading the way in his senior season. The team takes plenty of deep shots and is sinking a third of them. That’s one area of potential growth.
Along with Schoefield, Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden are solid shooters who can move the ball around. Bone has 5.7 APG as the team is averaging 21 assists. Gonzaga likes to limit opposition assists so that’ll be worth watching.
As for the Bulldogs, while Tennessee has one of the best frontcourts in the nation, Gonzaga has—arguably—the absolute best.
Rui Hachimura is an absolute superstar. He’s scored at least 17 points in all nine of the Bulldogs’ games, including putting up 33 in their opener against Idaho State. He scored 20 on Duke and notched a double-double against Creighton with 11 rebounds to go with his 22 points.
Overall, he’s scoring 22.3 PPG with 6.2 RPG. He’s shooting 58.1-percent from the floor and is dangerous inside the paint and can manage well with the outside shots, too. He’s the big scorer inside while Brandon Clarke—who has 16.4 PPG of his own—is the defensive wizard.
A fellow big man inside, Clarke’s an excellent inside shot making 72.1-percent of his shots, but he’s also a killer on the boards and a major obstacle for opposing forwards. He’s got 3.4 BPG. He had six blocks against Duke.
The frontcourt is stacked, but the backcourt is nearly as scary. Zach Norvell Jr. and Josh Perkins are strong outside shooters with the ability to push towards the basket as well and set up shots for their teammates. Perkins, in particular, has 8.3 APG and has already produced a pair of double-doubles.
Norvell is second on the team in scoring with 18.1 PPG and has been just as consistent an offensive presence outside as Hachimura inside the paint.
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Gonzaga is an offensive powerhouse and the Volunteers will need to be just as prolific offensively to keep pace with the Bulldogs. That means pushing towards the hoop and freeing up their top shooters for higher percentage shots.
While keeping pace offensively is needed, they also need to do what they can to contain the Zags. Watch to see how the Bulldogs fare against the zone heavy defense of Tennessee early. Washington held Gonzaga to 81-points, their lowest total of the season, thanks to a zone heavy approach.
Another key to watch is how Tennessee delivers from the free throw line. The team needs to capitalize on these chances and that’s been easier said than done for the team this year. If they’re going to deliver against Gonzaga, they need to take advantage of their free throws.
With these two elite teams matching up, it should provide plenty of excellent live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu.
Key Player
In Tennessee’s loss to Kansas earlier this season, the Vols failed to push towards the rim as much as they should, given the strength of the Tennessee frontcourt.
Williams is the best player on the court for the Volunteers and, as a result, is always key. But, he’s more of a given than Kyle Alexander. Alexander needs to get going early in this contest to allow his team a chance for the upset over the ranking No.1 team.
Williams is an answer for Hachimura. Alexander needs to be an answer to Clarke. Few teams in college hoops can come close to what Hachimura and Clarke provide Gonzaga inside. If Alexander is on his game alongside Williams, Tennessee is one of those teams that can. That’s huge.
Besides, if Williams and Alexander are producing inside, that also really opens things up on the perimeter for Schofield, Bone and Bowden.
Volunteers vs. Bulldogs Live Betting
With a strong front court pair of Williams and Alexander, along with some potentially dominant inside defense by Yves Pons, the Volunteers are uniquely positioned to have a chance for an upset on Gonzaga.
Count on this game to be close, but Gonzaga got a bit of a scare in their last game against Washington as the Huskies made a late push to get within a couple. The Bulldogs will be better prepared for Tennessee.
Look for a big game from Norvell in this one and with Hachimura as consistent as anyone, they Zags will get enough to inch out a narrow victory.
Be sure to check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Gonzaga 87, Tennessee 85
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