Norfolk State vs Tennessee Prediction College Basketball Picks 12/31/24

The Norfolk State Spartans and the Tennessee Volunteers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Thompson-Boling Arena. Here’s a Norfolk State vs Tennessee prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Norfolk State vs Tennessee pick. We will examine:

The Norfolk State Spartans’ recent form and player performance

The Tennessee Volunteers’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Norfolk State Spartans

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Tennessee Volunteers

Recent betting trends in games played between Norfolk State and Tennessee

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Norfolk State vs Tennessee game

Norfolk State Spartans Betting Preview

Norfolk State mustered a spotty 6-6 record over their first 12 games. The losses in that time were versus William & Mary, Stanford, Grand Canyon, Hofstra, Baylor, and Northern Kentucky. The wins otherwise came courtesy of Penn State Wilkes-Barre, VA-Lynchburg, James Madison, Hampton, UC Davis, and Stony Brook. After that came a pair of wins over Alabama State and Grambling.

Matched up against High Point on Sunday, the Spartans played a close game. After going into the break on a 39-34 edge, Norfolk State was outscored 40-38 in the second half for a 77-74 victory. Topping the team on a stellar outing was Brian Moore with 33 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Christian Ings also finished in double-figures with 12 points, two rebounds, and one assist. Leading bench scorers Jaylani Darden and Sin’Cere McMahon each turned in six points.

Moore is the leading team scorer for Norfolk State this year with 19.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Ings is a ways behind with 12.9 points and 3.7 assists per game, while Jalen Myers is sitting at 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game on average so far.

Tennessee Volunteers Betting Preview

Over on the Tennessee side, they’re unblemished so far. The Vols have dispatched Gardner-Webb, Louisville, Montana, Austin Peay, Virginia, Baylor, TN-Martin, Syracuse, Miami, Illinois, Western Carolina, and Middle Tennessee in succession.

In the Middle Tennessee game back on December 23, the Volunteers were in trouble with a 40-34 deficit in the first half. Tennessee woke up on a 48-24 run from there and took it 82-64. Chaz Lanier finished with 23 points and four rebounds to lead the way. Zakai Zeigler doubled up with 17 points and 15 assists in the victory, while Igor Milicic had 12 rebounds with seven points.

Topping the Volunteers in scoring so far this year is Lanier with 19.3 points per game. Jordan Gainey is second with 11.9 points per game, and Zeigler is sitting at 11.8 points, 8.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds per game on the season.

Why the Tennessee Volunteers will win

• Tennessee has won each of its last 20 games at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center when playing with a rest advantage.
• Norfolk State has lost each of its last eight games against Top 10 AP-ranked opponents.
• Tennessee has won the first half in 12 of its last 13 games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Norfolk State Spartans will win

• Norfolk State has won each of its last three games.

Norfolk State vs Tennessee Prediction

I’ll likely lean toward Tennessee, but I’m staying away. I’m not a big fan of the gargantuan lines on gross mismatches. Tennessee was out of sorts early in their latest game versus Middle Tennessee but found their footing in the second half and finished strong for an 18-point victory. The Vols shot 48.2 percent from the field with a 40-29 rebounding edge in that one. Tennessee has now scored 75 or more points in 10 of 12 games so far (Virginia and Illinois).

As for Norfolk State, on Sunday they had a great shooting effort with 53.8 percent from the floor and also turned in just eight turnovers. The Spartans weren’t so hot from the line, however (16-of-23 for 69.6 percent) and got out-rebounded significantly 41-31. The good news for the Spartans is that they’ve won three straight and scored 71 or more points in each of those. The bad news is that they failed to score 70 points in each of the previous three games—all losses. It’s going to be tough for Norfolk State to find much daylight against a quality team like Tennessee, so I don’t think they’ll get close in this one.