Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee March Madness Betting Preview: Veterans Delivering For No. 4 Seed Tennessee

Conference USA Champ Looks to Take Down One of Three Remaining SEC Teams

So much for that anticipated Purdue-Duke matchup in the Sweet 16 at Madison Square Garden.

After Fairleigh Dickinson became the second No. 16 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed with a 63-58 win over Purdue in the first round, No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic followed up its win over American Athletic Conference tournament champion Memphis by eliminating the Knights. FAU’s only previous NCAA tournament appearance before this year ended with a loss to Alabama, another SEC team, in 2002.

Tennessee went 5-7 over its last 12 games heading into the NCAA tournament and after a loss to Missouri in its SEC tournament opener, some betting on March Madness wondered if the Volunteers were deserving of a No. 4 seed, especially without injured point guard Zakai Zeigler.

The naysayers are pretty quiet these days after Tennessee used 12 offensive rebounds and eight steals to knock out ACC tournament champion Duke without trailing in the second half.

Tennessee (+1100) is eighth in the national championship odds with Florida Atlantic (+4000) is tied for 14th in the title odds.

When it comes to the Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee March Madness betting guide, the Volunteers are 5.5-point favorites.

Tennessee (+1100) is eighth in the national championship odds with Florida Atlantic (+4000) is tied for 14th in the title odds.

Florida Atlantic: Getting Defensive

There was nothing pretty about the way Florida Atlantic reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

After pulling down 18 offensive rebounds and limiting Memphis to 6 of 22 shooting from 3-point range in their tournament opener, the Owls took out tournament Cinderella Fairleigh Dickinson with another 15 offensive rebounds and it didn’t hurt that the Knights made just 29% of its 3-point attempts.

FAU also had more steals than turnovers and that is usually a recipe for success at this time of the team.

Even with redshirt sophomore Johnell Davis going off for 29 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, five steals and just one turnover, the Owls are listed as the underdog according to the Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee March Madness betting guide.

Florida Atlantic has covered against the college basketball point spreads in six of its last nine games.

Tennessee: Veterans Deliver in Second Round

Olivier Nkamhoua and Santiago Vescovi combined for just 11 points on 3 of 9 shooting in a first-round win over Louisiana.

It was a different story when the fourth-seeded Volunteers faced No. 5 seed Duke.

Nkamhoua matched his season-high with 27 points and he hit three 3-pointers while Vescovi had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists in the 65-52 win.

The game had to have extra meaning for Nkamhoua as he appeared in just one NCAA tournament game in his first three seasons. Tennessee didn’t make the field when he was a freshman and last year his season ended in early February. With the way Nkamhoua and Vescovi played over the weekend and two of the favorites out in the bracket, it is no surprise that the Florida Atlantic vs Tennessee March Madness betting preview favors the Volunteers.

Tennessee has covered against the college basketball betting lines in just one of its last five games against Conference USA teams.

Handicapping the Game

This is the first meeting between the teams since 2015 when Tennessee won 81-62 as a 13.5-point favorite. The game went under the 146.5-point total.

FAU is 2-14 against SEC teams with the wins coming against Mississippi State in 2010 and against Florida earlier this season.

Among teams still remaining in the NCAA tournament field, only UConn has a better record against the spread than FAU’s mark of 22-11-1. Tennessee is 18-17 against the college basketball lines after covering in the Duke win.

Tennessee leads the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. FAU is 36th in defense and has the 30th-best offensive rating so this is not your typical mid-major likely to be overwhelmed by facing a team from the SEC. There isn’t much to separate the teams in the rebounding department with

Tennessee is ninth and FAU 22nd in rebounding margin. Tennessee does have a decided advantage in offensive rebounding differential and that could be key with the Volunteers without starting point guard Zeigler.

Tennessee is 24-7 when listed by the Las Vegas NCAA odds as the favorite. Florida Atlantic is 4-2 as an underdog.

Florida Atlantic is 5-0 this season in games played at neutral sites and has covered against the spread in three of those matchups. (Odds change frequently, be sure to check for the most up to date changes.)

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