It’s hard to not get excited for a pair of top-5 teams squaring off on the hardwood, particularly this early in the college hoops calendar, but that’s exactly what we have with the No.2 Kansas Jayhawks and No.5 Tennessee Volunteers set for the NIT Season Tip Off Championship Game on Friday night.
This is an epic matchup that most hoped we’d see in the tournament. It’ll undoubtedly be a highly rated game for a November college hoops contest. Both teams will be trying to remain undefeated and advance to 5-0. Regardless of who wins, this will be a good test and barometer for both programs.
This is essentially a matchup of a Final Four team from a year ago and one that was knocked out early by Loyola-Chicago. While Kansas made it deeper, they also lost a lot more talent while Tennessee retained nearly the entire team from last year. Now it comes down to a question of experience versus talent and depth. The Vols have the experience edge and the Jayhawks have the talent—at least on paper. This will be one of the best early season college hoops games and you can make it more exciting, but getting involved in the action at BookMaker.eu.
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Kansas Jayhawks
Date and Time: Friday, November 23, 2018, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Volunteers vs. Jayhawks TV Coverage: ESPN2
Much has already been made about the Jayhawks on the young season. They’re loaded with talent. They’re as deep as anyone, but they did lose a lot from last year’s team. That’s where the Vols may have an edge.
Tennessee lost just a single player from last year’s team, returning all five starters and the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year. While they lost to the 11-seed Loyola-Chicago in the NCAA Tournament last year, they were good enough to earn a No.3 seed for the Big Dance. Given how good the team was last year, the extra experience should only serve to make them better. They’ll have an edge over other big programs early in the season—like Kansas—given all that experience.
As for the players themselves, last year’s SEC Player of the Year is back. Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield form a potent frontcourt, despite some size questions. The two combined for 29.1 PPG and plenty of boards to go with it.
Kyle Alexander anchors the middle for this team from the center position. He was a huge defensive presence last season inside the paint and his absence was a big reason Loyola-Chicago was able to get past the Volunteers in the tourney.
On the perimeter, the team has great options, too. Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden are good options who can control the ball and find shots for their teammates. Bone had 11 points in the win over Louisville to allow the Volunteers to advance to this game. Of course, most of the production in that game came up front. Williams and Schofield combined for 44 of the team’s 92 points as the entire team shot 54-percent from the floor.
Moving on to the Jayhawks, they topped Marquette on Wednesday night, beating them 77-68 and holding them to just 21 points in the second half as they came back from a nine-point deficit at the half to avoid an upset.
Kansas shot well from the floor and was very efficient on the outside though most of the shots came from the paint. Dedric Lawson scored a team high 26 points in the game, shooting 9-for-16 form the floor. He also recorded 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. His first came in the Jayhawks’ commanding win over Michigan State to open the season. He notched 14 rebounds and 20 points in that contest.
Lawson was a big selling point for this team the preseason. The transfer from Memphis was great in the 2016-2017 season before sitting out last year. He had 19.2 PPG and 9.9 RPG the last time he played college hoops. That’s huge inside, particularly considering he’s joined by Udoka Azubuike. He broke out last year and has looked good on the young season.
On the perimeter, Kansas may have the edge. Devon Dotson was a five-star recruit this year. Joining Dotson is Quentin Grimes who is, arguably, an even better recruit. He leads the team in assists and has shown flashes of brilliance as he adjusts to the college game.
Then, of course, there’s also the senior Lagerald Vick. He had 16 points against Marquette and is the veteran on the outside. He scored just two against Michigan State, but had 65 points in the two games in the middle.
Live Betting
This is an elite matchup and will go down to the wire, but sloppy play earlier in the game could ultimately impact the final score.
Tennessee has a difficult front court to beat in Williams and Schofield with the added size of Alexander. While Azubuike and Lawson are certainly quality players, the matchup advantage could favor the Volunteers. Meanwhile, on the outside, Kansas has the stronger backcourt with a couple top recruits. The experience, however, isn’t there and both teams—early—have leaned on the inside shooting to carry the offense.
In the end, the experience should win out and make the Vols to cover the spread a solid pick, but don’t take any first half results too seriously and if one team is running away early don’t be afraid to take advantage of the odds, expecting the game to end up close. After all, we saw Kansas get off to a slow start last game before turning on the jets.
Key Player
The key to this game may come to the backcourt for either team. Of course, the duo of Bone and Bowden are proven while Vick has shown he can be a solid presence on the outside as well. In the end, however, the key player in this game may be Quentin Grimes.
A five-star recruit who many thought would be a top NBA draft pick next year after a one-and-done season, Grimes got off to a great start, scoring 21 against Michigan State and then recording a double-double with 10 points and 10 assist against Vermont in the team’s second game. Since then, however, Grimes scored six against Louisiana and just three against Marquette on Wednesday.
Grimes played 57 minutes combined in his last two games with just nine points, three assists and six rebounds to show for it. In those two games, Kansas failed to cover the spread against Louisiana and while covering against Marquette, they needed a big second half and big performances by Vick and Lawson to cover.
Against a team like Tennessee, Kansas really needs Grimes to give them a performance like he had against the Spartans to give them the edge. If he continues on his latest trend, it could be bad news for the Jayhawks.
Volunteers vs. Jayhawks Live Betting
The Jayhawks are the higher ranked team and, honestly, probably have the better talent on the roster. They’re incredibly deep and sport a strong front court and talented young backcourt with Vick as the anchor on the outside. What’s not to like about that?
Tennessee, however, is an experienced team that’s returning the entire starting five from a top team a season ago. That’s relatively unheard of in the world of major college hoops. Take the experience here early in the season to give the Vols an edge and allow them to cover the spread and be a favorable bet at BookMaker.eu.
Either way, expect a close game. These are two excellent teams, but Tennessee’s front line is big and could give Kansas issues inside while the backcourt is strong enough to match up with Vick and the talented freshman duo of Kansas, particularly the those baby Jayhawks having yet to fully fly.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Friday’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Tennessee 83, Kansas 81
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