The Tennessee Volunteers are without guard Zakai Zeigler against the upset-minded Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns in their March Madness opener. Here is our best Louisiana vs. Tennessee prediction based on the top NCAAB odds.
The Volunteers are 23-10 on the season, though they have struggled down the stretch. Even before losing Zeigler, the Vols had lost four of seven games overall. Without him, they have lost two of their last three, and they allowed 79 points in each of their losses.
The Ragin' Cajuns enter the tournament on a five-game win streak after taking care of business in the Sun Belt tournament. They played just one Power Five team this season, and they lost that game 100-72 to the Texas Longhorns. Their leading scorer, Jordan Brown, is averaging 19.1 points per game.
Here is our best Louisiana vs. Tennessee prediction (odds via BetMGM ; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Louisiana vs. Tennessee odds
Louisiana vs. Tennessee prediction
If the Volunteers were playing against any of the other No. 13 seeds, they'd be in serious danger of being upset in the first round. The good news for them is that they drew the Ragin' Cajuns, who do most of their scoring from deep.
The Ragin' Cajuns are top 50 in the country in 3-point shooting percentage, which makes this a perfect matchup for the Volunteers. Why? Because they have the best 3-point defense in the country, and they only allow their opponents to connect on 26.2% of their 3-pointers.
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With that being said, the Volunteers are not the same team without Zeigler. He averaged 10.7 points per game this season and led the team with 5.4 assists per contest. His missing offensive and defensive production will allow the Ragin' Cajuns to hang around for much longer than they should.
The Ragin' Cajuns likely aren't going to win this game, but this line should be in single digits. Because it's not, this is an easy spot to back an underdog.
Check out our best March Madness odds and Wooden Award odds.
Louisiana vs. Tennessee best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ULL +11.5 | ULL +11.5 | ULL +11.5 | ULL +11 | ULL +11 |
| -110 | -115 | -110 | -110 | -115 |
Check out our breakdown of the best March Madness odds and all of our March Madness picks and betting trends.
There are slight discrepancies among the five major sportsbooks when it comes to this spread. Caesars and PointsBet each have this number listed at +11, and without offering less juice, there is no reason to bet at either one. FanDuel is offering a price of -115 for +11.5, which eliminates that one as well.
Therefore, place your wager at either DraftKings or BetMGM to get both the best spread and the best price for this one.
Louisiana vs. Tennessee odds analysis
The spread opened with the Volunteers favored by 10.5, and despite 60% of bettors backing the Ragin' Cajuns than the Vols, the number has moved in favor of Tennessee. The consensus lin e sits at Tennessee -11 as of late Thursday afternoon.
The total opened at 136.5, and it has not moved at all. A slight majority of bettors are backing the Over, so it is unlikely that this number is going to see any real movement before tipoff. If it moves at all, it will likely only go to 137.
Louisiana vs. Tennessee game info
- Date: Thursday, March 16, 9:40 p.m. ET
- TV: CBS
- Location: Amway Center, Orlando, FL
Louisiana vs. Tennessee pick made 03/14/2023 at 11:02 a.m. ET.
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