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| Tennessee Volunteers | Massachusetts Minutemen |
| 22-12 | March 21, 2014, 02:45 | PNC Arena | 24-8 |
The Tennessee Volunteers will be looking for their second victory of the NCAA Tournament on Friday as they take on Massachusetts in Midwest Region action of March Madness.
The Vols won their First Four play-in game in overtime on Wednesday night, beating Iowa 78-65 to earn the No. 11 seed in the Midwest. Jordan McRae led the way with 20 points in that win for UT, while Jarnell Stokes had 18 points.
Tennessee is the only 11 seed to be favored against a No. 6. The odds menu at Sportsbook had the Minutemen as 4.5-point underdogs. Tennessee is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games, but just 1-6-1 ATS in eight tournament openers since 2000 (excluding play-in games). They have also played six straight UNDERs.
UMass meanwhile ended the year on a money-sucking 0-6 ATS run. This is their first tournament game since 1998. [ Bracket Contest for $150,000? Check out Sportsbook ]
Odds Shark computer pick - 74.2-69.6 Volunteers
The Minutemen sit at 24-8 (15-16-1 ATS) on the season. By comparison, the Volunteers are currently 22-12 (17-14-1 ATS). Looking to wager on the totals? Massachusetts is 13-19 OU, and Tennessee is 13-19 OU.
View Tennessee Volunteers vs Massachusetts Minutemen Odds and Stats.
This game puts the Minutemen, most recently No. 82 in the Odds Shark power rankings, up against the Volunteers, who rate No. 15 in the latest survey.
Tennessee won its last outing, a 78-65 result against Iowa on March 19. They covered in that game as a 2-point underdog. Jordan McRae scored 20 points leading the Volunteers to a 78-65 victory over Iowa at University of Dayton Arena on Wednesday.
In their last action, Massachusetts was an 85-77 loser on the road against George Washington. They failed to cover the 1-point spread as favorites. Maxie Esho scored 22 points in a futile effort to lead the Minutemen to a win (they lost 85-77 to George Washington at Barclays Center on Friday).
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Massachusetts's No. 41 nationally ranked offense (76.09 points per game) against a Volunteers defense that sits as the No. 14 at 61.18 PPG. The Minutemen have been averaging 46.02% from the field, more than the Volunteers have managed so far this season (44.68% on average).
A few Volunteers at Minutemen trends to consider:
Tennessee is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Tennessee is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Tennessee's last 5 games
Massachusetts is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
Massachusetts is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Massachusetts's last 6 games
