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Tennessee Volunteers vs. UMass Minutemen NCAA Tourney Betting Predictions & Preview

Tennessee vs UMass Gambling Lines

The 11th-seeded Tennessee Volunteers will take on the sixth-seeded Massachusetts Minutemen at PNC Arena in Raleigh on Friday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. [ad-4468020]

2014 NCAA Tournament Free Picks
Midwest Region – 2nd Round
11 Tennessee Volunteers (22-12) vs. 6 Massachusetts Minutemen (24-8)
Date: Friday, March 21, 2014
Time: 2:45 PM ET
Venue: PNC Arena
City: Raleigh, North Carolina
O/U Odds: 137
Spread: Tennessee -4
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Matchup Stats | ATS Insider Preview

Tennessee is coming off a win in the First Four of Iowa, while Massachusetts enters the tournament in a favourable spot after coming out of the Atlantic 10 conference.

The selection committee’s favorable look at the A-10 has taken a lot of heat in recent weeks, and the spot given to Massachusetts has been a major point of contention.

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The Minutemen started the year hot, winning 16 of their first 17 games, including good wins over teams like Nebraska, and then-No. 19 New Mexico, as well as wins over other tournament teams, BYU, Providence, and Saint Joseph’s.

Since then, the team is just 8-7, having alternated wins and losses in their last six games, which has many wondering whether they deserved such a high seed.

The Minutemen are powered by athletic point guard Chaz Williams. Williams does it all for the team, leading UMass in points with 15.8 per game, assists with 7.0 per game, and steals with 1.6 per game. He’s the guy that makes the team’s offense go, and he’ll need to make some things happen on Friday if the team is to continue on through to Sunday.
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He’s helped out by forward Cady Lalanne, who is averaging 11.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game.

The reality is, for as much heat as the A-10 has taken in recent days, the SEC wasn’t any better this year, at least not beyond the top two teams. Even so, Tennessee is under-seeded, and proved that on Wednesday with a convincing win over Iowa.

The Volunteers needed overtime to get past the Hawkeyes, but took over in the extra session, outscoring Iowa 14-1 in overtime en route to a 78-65 win.

Tennessee guard Jordan McRae paced all scorers in that game with 20 points, while forward Jarnell Stokes chipped in 18 points and 13 rebounds for the game’s only double-double. The Volunteers like to slow down the pace of their games, and were able to slow the Hawkeyes down enough so as to throw off their game on Wednesday.

The Volunteers impressed a lot of onlookers on Wednesday night, and while they deserve a lot of credit for their performance, the reality is the team shouldn’t be giving away this many points in this matchup.

The Minutemen may have struggled down the stretch, but they’re still a good team, and if they can somehow revert back to the form that saw them play as well as they did in the first half of the season, they’ll be a team to watch out for.

The Minutemen are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 non-conference games.

The play: Massachusetts +4

By Gino Bottero

Gino is new to CappersPicks.com but NOT new to the online gambling industry.He's got an AMAZING knack for discovering hidden gems when it comes to betting on sports. Stick with him as he predicts when a team will have a letdown! Check Gino out for NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB betting articles all season long!