Florida Atlantic Owls vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/23/2023

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Thursday, March 23, 2023

Venue:  Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to Watch:  TBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  FAU +5.5, Tennessee -5.5; Over/Under:  130.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  FAU +5.5, Tennessee -5.5; Over/Under:  130.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  FAU +5.5, Tennessee -5.5; Over/Under:  130.5 points

Florida Atlantic Owls:  33-3 (18-2) (1st place, C-USA)

Tennessee Volunteers:  25-10 (11-7) (5th place, SEC)

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Florida Atlantic Owls:  5-0  last 5

Tennessee Volunteers:  3-2  last 5

FAU is coming into this game with a 33-3 record overall and they are 5-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 9 game winning streak with wins coming against the UTSA Roadrunners, the UTEP Miners, the Rice Owls, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, the UAB Blazers, the Memphis Tigers, and the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights in their last game. Johnell Davis led the team in points in that game with 29 while Alijah Martin was next on the team with 14 points. Johnell Davis and Nicholas Boyd each led the team in assists in that game with 5 while Johnell Davis led the team in rebounds with 12. They were 40.8% from the field, 29% from 3-point range, and 61.1% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 78.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.1 PPG against them. FAU has an ATS record of 22-11-1 this season and their O/U record is 17-16-1.

Tennessee is coming into this game with a 25-10 record overall and they are 7-2 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game on a 2 game winning streak with wins coming against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and the Duke Blue Devils in their last game. Olivier Nkamhoua led the team in points in that game with 27 while Santiago Vescovi was next on the team with 14 points. Santiago Vescovi led the team in assists in that game with 5 while Olivier Nkamhoua, Santiago Vescovi, Josiah-Jordan James, and Jonas Aidoo each led the team in rebounds with 5. They were 40.4% from the field, 42.9% from 3-point range, and 76.9% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 71.2 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 57.8 PPG against them. Tennessee has an ATS record of 18-17 this season and their O/U record is 13-21-1.

The current betting odds have Tennessee listed as a 5.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Tennessee finished the season with a 25-10 record overall but they were a very good team in their neutral site games with a 7-2 record in those. They looked really good in their last game against Duke as they were able to bully them off of the court with their size and this will be a similar game as Tennessee is starting to get into a rhythm now with their physicality on the court. FAU also had a very good season as they were 33-3 overall and were also perfect in their neutral site games with a 5-0 record, but FAU also played in a much weaker conference than Tennessee did in the SEC and FAU also had a much weaker road to this round of the NCAA Tournament, even playing a 16 seed in the last round which they struggled to pull away against. Tennessee is starting to get on a roll again at the right time and they have the size and skill to make a deep run here with the weaker region they are in too. The best way to place a bet here is on Tennessee to cover the spread in this game. 

Florida Atlantic Tennessee Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, March 23, 2023 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Tennessee 81 FAU 69.

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Florida Atlantic Owls: 22-12 ATS in all games. 18-9 ATS after playing a game as favorite. 80-49 UNDER in non-conference games. 

Tennessee Volunteers: 19-28 ATS in a neutral court game where the total is 130 to 139.5. 14-23 ATS in a postseason tournament game. 30-15 UNDER after 2 or more consecutive wins. 

Florida Atlantic Owls:  None.

Tennessee Volunteers:  Z. Zeigler (G) out for season - Knee. D. Jefferson (G) out for season - Redshirt.

“I apologized to him for that but also reminded him we’re the adults. We’ve got to fix that behavior. It’s part of the game. I apologized to him.” - Dusty May after his team’s win against Fairleigh Dickinson in their last game.

“We're a tough, hard-nosed team. That's how we play everybody. But knowing they had a lot of freshmen, we knew that if we come in and apply more pressure and be tough and physical, then they would have to deal with it.” - Olivier Nkamhoua after their win against Duke in their last game. 

N. Boyd 

J. Gaffney 

V. Goldin 

B. Greenlee 

B. Weatherspoon

T. Key 

O. Nkamhoua 

J. Phillips 

U. Plavsic 

S. Vescovi

PPG: J. Davis (13.2)

APG: J. Gaffney (2.7)

Reb/G: V. Goldin (6.5)

PPG: S. Vescovi (12.7)

APG: Z. Zeigler (5.4)

Reb/G: O. Nkamhoua (5)

Coaches:

Florida Atlantic Owls: Dusty May (5th season)

Tennessee Volunteers: Rick Barnes (8th season)