Texas A&M Aggies vs Tennessee Volunteers Betting Preview
The SEC tournament will be decided Sunday as the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies (23-11) will square off with the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers (25-7) in the championship game. This game will be played at Amalie Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 1:00 pm ET.
Tennessee won their lone matchup of the season against the Aggies at home back on February 1, 90-80. In the win, five Volunteers scored in double digits, led by Kennedy Chandler with 16. Wade Taylor IV had a game-high 19 points in the loss for the Aggies.
This will be the Aggies’ fourth game of the tournament as they have beaten No. 9 Florida (83-80), No. 1 Auburn (67-62), and No. 4 Arkansas (82-64). Having already beaten two of the top four teams in the tournament already, they hope to beat a third with the No. 2 Volunteers.
Speaking of Tennessee, this will be just their third game of the tournament as they received a bye initially. They beat No. 10 Mississippi State 72-59 on Friday and beat No. 3 Kentucky 69-62 in the semifinals Saturday.
Tennessee is the favorite playing in this one. They are -300 to win while the Aggies’ moneyline is +240. The spread features Texas A&M +7 (-110), and the over/under for total points is 130.5.
More Odds
Heading into the NCAA tournament next week, Tennessee has the 12th-best odds of winning it at +3400. Texas A&M is +49000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Tennessee has the better offensive of the two this season. They rank 82nd in scoring averaging 73.4 points per game. The Aggies rank 109th, averaging 72.6 points.
Defensively, it is again Tennessee with the advantage. They rank 24th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of just 63.2 points per game. Texas A&M ranks 114th allowing 67.4 points.
Aggies Embracing Underdog Status
It wasn’t that long ago that the Aggies were in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, and it seemed like they had given up on the season. Since that losing streak ended, though, the Aggies have gone 8-1 and now look to finish an improbable run with a win of the SEC tournament.
Leading the Aggies on offense is senior guard Quenton Jackson. This season, Jackson is averaging 14.6 points on 49% shooting. He is also adding 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
Texas A&M have two others averaging double digits in Henry Coleman III (11.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.4 steals) and Tyrece Radford (10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists).
Tennessee Out To Prove They Are SEC’s Best
After finishing 14-4 in the conference, just one game behind the conference regular-season champion Auburn Tigers, they have had a chip on their shoulders. In fact, they enter Sunday’s game having won five in a row and will look to prove they are the conference’s best against the Aggies.
Tennessee had a two-headed monster on offense in guards Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi. Chandler is averaging 13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. Not to be outdone, Vescovi is averaging 13.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, three assists, and 1.6 steals per game.
Other contributors for the Volunteers include Josiah-Jordan James (9.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals) and Zakai Zeigler (8.9 points, 2.7 assists, 1.8 steals).
Take The Aggies And The Points
On paper, Tennessee certainly seems like the better team, but it is hard to ignore the type of roll that the Aggies have been on. It hasn’t been just against bad teams either, as they have beaten some legitimate talent to end the season.
The Volunteers may still end up winning, but it wouldn’t be shocking if this is a close game to the end.
For that reason, there is a ton of value in taking Texas A&M and the seven points.