L to R: Bishop Boswell, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Nate Ament, Jaylen Carey. Photo By Elliot Walker/Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee basketball begins its run at the NCAA Tournament Friday when it faces off against 11-seed SMU/Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks advanced to the Round of 64 after knocking off SMU 89-79 in the First Four on Wednesday night.
Tennessee opened as 10.5-point favorites over Miami according to the DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 148.5. KenPom predicts the Vols to earn a 81-69 victory.
Rick Barnes’ 11th Tennessee team is 14-19 against the spread this season. The RedHawks are 20-10 against the spread this season after covering and winning outright as underdogs against SMU.
Miami (Ohio) earned an at-large NCAA Tournament bid after posting a 31-0 (18-0 MAC) record in the regular season. The RedHawks undefeated run ended with a loss against UMass in the opening round of the MAC Tournament but their regular season success was still enough for them to make the NCAA Tournament.
The RedHawks shoot 59.5% from the field, a mark that ranks fifth nationally, and 37.5% from three-point range, a mark that ranks 22nd nationally.
Miami (Ohio) is extremely balanced offensively with leading scorer Peter Suder averaging just 14.6 points per game. However, seven different RedHawk players average double-digit points per game. Five different Miami (Ohio) have made 30-plus three-pointers this season.
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“Their pace, and then just their ability to score or shoot the ball,” Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey said. “I think Coach (Travis) Steele has done a really good job with this group. Spacing the floor, shooting it the way they shoot it, but they’re also really good on the offensive glass, which I don’t think they get enough credit for.
“They’re good. Anytime you can go undefeated in a season, you’re a good team. I don’t care what league you’re in.”
Tennessee is back in the NCAA Tournament for an eighth straight time after posting a 22-11 (11-7 SEC) record ahead of the tournament. After winning eight of nine games from late January to late February, the Vols stumbled down the stretch losing four of their last six games.
The Vols have made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years including trips to the Elite Eight the last two seasons.
The winner of Tennessee’s matchup against Miami advances to the Round of 32 to face the winner of three-seed Virginia versus 14-seed Wright State. Two Tennessee victories would send the Vols to the Midwest Regional Semifinals in Chicago with potential matchups against two-seed Iowa State, seven-seed Kentucky and 10-seed Santa Clara.
Tipoff between Tennessee and SMU is at 4:25 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon in Philadelphia. Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn are on the call for TBS.