NCAA Tournament Odds: Ohio vs. Tennessee

Ohio's Armon Bassett is averaging 30.8 ppg in the past four. (AP Images)

Ohio University not only wasn’t supposed to reach the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Bobcats really weren’t supposed to reach the second round of the MAC Tournament. But Ohio won that as a No. 9 seed and then shocked Georgetown pretty easily, 97-83, in Thursday’s first round to earn a date with No. 6 seed Tennessee on Saturday in Providence, R.I. The Vols have opened as 8.5-point favorites on Bodog’s college basketball odds.

The No. 14 Bobcats (22-14, 12-12 ATS) were the highest-seeded team to advance on Day 1, and they are one of just three teams in the NCAA Tournament field that had a below .500 conference record. And you won’t find many better backcourt duos in the country than Ohio’s Armon Bassett and D.J. Cooper. Those two combined for 55 points on 17-for-29 shooting (10-for-18 from long range) against Georgetown as Ohio shot a ridiculous 58.2 percent from the field overall. It was the school’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1983.

Tennessee (26-8, 13-16-2 ATS) edged San Diego State, 62-59, on Thursday thanks to a career-high 15 points from backup guard Melvin Goins. The Vols held SDSU to 38.5 percent shooting and are now 20-0 this season when holding foes under 40 percent. They have won six of seven overall, with the only loss to Kentucky in the SEC Tournament (they also beat Kentucky in that stretch). Tennessee doesn’t have a lot of size, so Ohio definitely has a decent shot to pull another upset. Look for this game to be very fast-paced. The Bobcats will shoot a lot of three-pointers, while UT is 11th nationally in three-point defense, holding teams to just 29 percent.

Saturday’s game will be the Vols’ first against a MAC school in the Bruce Pearl era. It also will be the Vols’ first-ever NCAA Tournament game against a No. 14 seed.

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