No. 20 Tennessee Basketball vs. TSU: How To Watch, Betting Odds, Prediction

Tennessee basketball is back in action on Thursday night when it hosts Tennessee State in its final tuneup before heading to Las Vegas for the Players Era Festival to begin a run of six straight games against power five opponents.

Here’s everything to know about the matchup from the broadcast details to the betting odds and much more.

More From RTI: Two Tennessee Basketball Players Miss Practice Ahead Of Tennessee State Game

How to Watch — No. 20 Tennessee (4-0, 0-0 SEC) vs. Tennessee State (2-2, 0-0 OVC)

• Start Time: 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
• Location: Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center
• Watch: SEC Network+. PxP: Andy Brock, CC: Steve Hamer, Sideline: Sarah Detwiler
• Online Streaming: Watch ESPN
• Radio (Knoxville): The Vol Network/The Vol Network App
• Vol Network radio crew: PxP: Mike Keith, CC: Chris Lofton, CC: John Wilkerson

Betting Odds

FanDuel Sportsbook

• Tennessee -31.5 Tennessee State
• Over/under 151.5

KenPom

• Tennessee -26 Tennessee State
• Over/under 152

Probable Starters

Tennessee (via UT Game Notes):

Tennessee State (via TSU Game Notes):

Where They Land In Rankings

Tennessee:

• AP Poll: No. 20
• Coaches Poll: No. 17
• KenPom: No. 12
• Bart Torvik: No. 14
• EvanMiya: No. 12

Tennessee State:

• AP Poll: N/R
• Coaches Poll: N/R
• KenPom: No. 238
• Bart Torvik: No. 257
• EvanMiya: No. 241

Team Stats (via KenPom)

Tennessee:

Tennessee State:

Stat Leaders

Tennessee:

Points: Nate Ament — 19.8 PPG, 46.2 FG%, 22.2 3PT%

Rebounds: Nate Ament — 9 RPG, 6.5 DRPG, 2.5 ORPG

Assists: Ja’Kobi Gillespie — 6.3 APG, 3.8 TOPG, 29.8 MPG

Tennessee State: 

Points: Aaron Nkrumah — 18.5 PPG, 46.8 FG%, 37.5 3PT%

Rebounds: Jalen Pitre — 8.5 RPG, 5.5 DRPG, 3 ORPG

Assists: Dante Harris — 4 APG, 1.5 TOPG, 27.8 MPG

Prediction

Tennessee State is off to a nice start to Nolan Smith’s tenure with two wins and a pair of solid performances in losses against Belmont and Western Kentucky.

The Tigers have had a bit of good luck to this point with opponents shooting just 20% from three-point range against them so far. TSU is due for some regression to the mean there and Tennessee could provide it. Even if they don’t, the Vols should continue to dominate the glass.

My big question is how sharp Tennessee will come out in its fifth straight buy game and in a look ahead spot to next week. Still, my pick is for Tennessee to roll.

Tennessee 93, Tennessee State 60