NCAA Tournament: Previewing a first-round matchup with Saint Peter’s

Tennessee Basketball (24-8) is heading to the big tournament as a no. 2 seed to face no. 15 Saint Peter’s (19-13) tonight (9:20 p.m. ET). Under Rick Barnes, the Vols have been a top-5 seed in each of their 5 appearances. This marks the second time they’ve been a 2-seed under Rick Barnes as well.

The Matchup 

The Vols come into this game as heavy favorites with ESPN only giving Saint Peter’s a 2% chance. The Vols are also favored by 21.5 points according to Vegas, and a big reason for that is the Peacocks do not put up many points. They only muster 65.3 points per game, and only outscore opponents by 1.9 points per game. Conversely, the Vols outscore their opponents 11.6 points per game, putting up 79.5 ppg and only allowing 67.9. The Vols also outbound the Peacocks 38.8 to 35.6, and the Peacocks only hit 5.9 3-pointers per game. Typically, teams who pull first-round upsets usually do well in those two areas, however, the Peacocks don’t seem to have any offensive firepower. 

Forward with Aidoo

One thing the Vols have struggled with this season is going up against great bigs. Aidoo hasn’t seemed to be physical or confident enough in some of those matchups this year. However, in this first round, Aidoo matches up well with Corey Washington who is only 6’6 and 180lbs. Washington is the Peacock’s leading scorer and rebounder, but if Aidoo can physically dominate him he won’t have much success.

Score Prediction: 

Tennessee 84, Saint Peter’s 66: Tennessee is coming off a disheartening 1st round loss in the SEC Tournament to Mississippi St. However, Tennessee has played well this year coming off losses. Dalton Knecht will show why he led the SEC in scoring this season and Aidoo will gain some confidence back with a good night against a smaller, yet very talented forward in Corey Washington.