Expert Madness Picks - (8) Oklahoma State vs. (9) Tennessee

NCAA Basketball Sports Betting

Oklahoma State Cowboys (22-11 SU, 15-11-1 ATS)
@ Dayton
Friday, March 20

BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds:  TENNESSEE -2, Total 156.5

Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• TENN has covered four of its last six games
• TENN has won five of its last seven games SU
• TENN has played five of its last six games UNDER the total
• OSU has covered nine of its last ten games
• OSU has won eight of its last ten games SU
• OSU has played six of its last eight games UNDER the total
  
  

This will be a high-octane game. Tennessee averages 78.5 points a game and loves to run it up and down the court. Oklahoma State, which had some scooters already, took on former U-Mass coach Travis Ford as their mentor, and really got the tempo going. The Cowboys tallied 81.1 points per contest, and trot out a number of guards who can light it up from the perimeter. Foremost among them is James Anderson, who scored 37 points in the season finale against Oklahoma. He averaged 18.6 points. Obi Muonelo hit 40% of his three-point attempts, while Keiton Page came off the bench with 41% accuracy from downtown. Byron Eaton (14.1 ppg) knows how to score as well.

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OSU hasn't gone cold, but the Cowboys have scored less than their season average in seven straight games. Missouri, which usually likes a fast pace itself, held them to less than 36% from the field and just 59 points in the Big 12 semi-final. Anderson has hit just two of ten from beyond the arc in his last two games, and will have to improve on that.

Of course, Tennessee isn't going to be playing any slowdown game with Oklahoma State, and they do not emphasize three-pointers as much. However, they are accurate enough from the field (45.6%) to cause concern if OSU isn't hot. The Volunteers bring an important edge into this game against the smallish Cowboys, in that they have useful size. Led by Tyler Smith (5.9 rpg) and Wayne Chism (8.1 rpg) up front, the Volunteers do hit the boards (12.5 offensive caroms per game, in fact), and we doubt whether OSU is going to be able to prevent second-chance points. They'll certainly need to do that, but we don't think they will.

Yes, OSU covered nine of its last ten games, and beat Oklahoma, featuring Blake Griffin, in the Big 12 tournament. However, this is a vote for Bruce Pearl's tam, with plenty of NCAA experience, and, we might add, playing better right now (advanced to SEC title game) than the Sooners are. Lay two points with favored Tennessee in the BetUS Sportsbook.

JAY'S PLAY:  TENNESSEE -2
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)