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Tennessee vs. Missouri prediction and odds for SEC Tournament quarterfinals

By Josh Yourish

Feb 28, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Santiago Vescovi (25) brings the ball up court against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 28, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers guard Santiago Vescovi (25) brings the ball up court against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Back on February 11, the Missouri Tigers took down the Tennessee Volunteers, 86-85 in Knoxville and that win was enough for Missouri to get the No. 4 seed in the SEC Tournament and a bye to the quarterfinals. Because of the loss, Tennessee had to beat Ole Miss yesterday and they won, 70-55 after a very close first half. Even without their point guard, the Vols rolled behind a 20 point game from Josiah Jordan-James who hit a halftime buzzer beating three-pointer to give his team a 39-33 lead going into the break.

Despite coming in with a higher seed, Missouri is actually the underdog for this SEC Tournament quarterfinal matchup.

Tennessee vs. Missouri odds, spread and total

Tennessee vs. Missouri prediction and pick

Back in that matchup on February 11, Zakai Zeigler had 10 assists for the Volunteers and was the catalyst for their offensive attack. Now, he’s out for the season and was missed Thursday against Ole Miss. The Vols had 15 team assists in the game, which was more than Ole Miss, but they also turned the ball over a staggering 14 times. That’s bad news against Missouri because the Tigers are No. 1 in the country in turnover margin, 5.8.

The Tigers are only 247th in raw defensive efficiency which is not good, but they force 17.3 turnovers a game which give them so many extra possessions. There’s another thing to pull from Tennessee’s game against Ole Miss yesterday. The Volunteers finished with 38 rebounds, nine of those offensive and that was a +16 over Ole Miss. They pounded the Rebels on the boards with their size and some good rebounding from the backcourt. They can feast in that department because Missouri is dead last in defensive rebound percentage, while the Vols are 5th in offensive rebound rate.

So, Missouri will force turnovers and score in transition, while Tennessee will play physical in the halfcourt and use their movement to get good shots and dominate on the glass. Sounds like a high-scoring game to me.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change