Tennessee Volunteers vs. Texas A&M Aggies Betting Preview
Two of the top three teams in the SEC will square off Tuesday night as the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (20-7, 9-5) take on the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies (20-7, 12-2). The Aggies will host this one at the Reed Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm ET.
The Aggies come in as slight favorites playing at home. They are -134 to win, while the Volunteers’ moneyline sits at +112. The spread features Tennessee as 1.5-point underdogs (-102), and the over/under for total points is 128.5.
Tennessee Looks To Rebound As Visiting Underdogs
After beating No. 2 Alabama last week, the Volunteers had a bit of a letdown as they dropped a road game against unranked Kentucky 66-54 on Saturday. Now, they will try to rebound against a tough Texas A&M team, but they will do so as road underdogs. On the road this year, Tennessee is just 4-4.
Tennessee relies on one of the best defenses in the nation. They currently rank second in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 56.7 points per game (60.2 on the road).
Offensively, the Volunteers rank 148th overall, averaging 71.7 points (66.8 on the road). They are led by senior guard Santiago Vescovi, who is averaging 12.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and two steals per game.
Tennessee has two others averaging double digits in Zakai Zeigler (10.8 points, 5.4 assists, two steals) and Olivier Nkamhoua (10.5 points, five rebounds).
Aggies Still In Running For SEC Title
At 12-2 in the SEC, the Aggies sit just a game back of the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. Given that those two teams square off in the regular season finale, the conference is very much in play for Texas A&M. For that reason, every win is important as the season winds down, and they will have their hands full with a tough Tennessee team.
Texas A&M also has a solid defense as they rank 60th in the nation, allowing opposing teams just 65.9 points per game (60.3 at home).
On the offensive side, they rank 86th, averaging 74.3 points per game. Most of their production comes from guards Wade Taylor IV (15.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals) and Tyrece Radford (13.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists).
Other contributors include Henry Coleman III (9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds), Julius Marble (9.3 points, 4.3 rebounds), and Dexter Dennis (9.1 points, 5.6 rebounds).
Take Texas A&M To Win At Home
Looking at the trends, Tennessee is just 1-5 against the spread in their last six games and 1-4 against the spread in their last five games played in February. Against the Aggies, though, they are 6-1 overall and 5-2 against the spread in their last seven games.
As for Texas A&M, they are 5-0 both straight up and against the spread in their last five games. They are undefeated in their last nine games at home.
For as good as Tennessee has been this season, the Aggies have been absolutely rolling at home as of late.
The Volunteers could also be shorthanded in this one as both Josiah-Jordan James (ankle) and Julian Phillips (hip) are questionable. After not playing in their last game against Kentucky, that would be a huge hit to the Volunteers’ depth if they are unable to go again.
Take Texas A&M to win at home (-134) and keep their dreams of an SEC championship intact.