Jaden Springer of Tennessee, left, passes the ball away from Jacob Toppin (0) and Dontaie Allen of Kentucky during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, February 6, 2021. (AP Photo / James Crisp)
- Tennessee is a 10-point home favorite over South Carolina on Tuesday in the SEC game
- Volunteers are 4-4 in their last eight games after starting the 10-1 season
- The odds, lines and spread for South-Carolina-Tennessee can be found below, along with a forecast
Seeming to be the team to be beaten at the SEC at the start of the season, Tennessee now hopes to just position itself for a good seed in the conference tournament, as it hosts South Carolina at 8:30 pm ET on Tuesday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
Number 19, Tennessee, was 4-4 in his last eight games, dropping to 14-5 overall and 7-5 in the conference. Volunteers have also been on the losing side against the spread in three of the last four games, but are favorites on Tuesday.
South Carolina (5-9, 3-7) has also struggled, currently with a three-game losing streak and is the underdog in this game.
South Carolina vs Tennessee Odds
| Team | Money line | To spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | +410 | +10 (-110) | Over 141.5 (-110) |
| Tennessee | -560 | -10 (-110) | Less than 141.5 (-110) |
Odds obtained on February 15 from FanDuel
Vols offense disappears
Despite being a three-point favorite, Tennessee lost at LSU 78-65 on Saturday.
Tennessee fell by just four points, 50-46, with 12 minutes left. However, the Volunteers scored just six field goals the rest of the way and LSU increased their lead to 17.
Guard Jaden Springer returned to shine for Tennessee with 21 points. He scored more than 20 points in three consecutive games – an average of 24.7 – after doing this only once in his first 14 games.
Jaden Springer 30 points in Tennessee’s victory last night 🔥 @ jadenspringer11 pic.twitter.com/QUKcNizjoe
– Courtside Films (@CourtsideFilms) February 11, 2021
Springer (12.2) and fellow freshman Keon Johnson (10.1) are the only two players in Tennessee with double-digit scoring averages. Johnson, also a point guard, scored twice in four consecutive games after reaching that mark five times in 15 games. Johnson scored 10 against LSU.
Second-year guard Santiago Vesconi added 13 points. He has scored 32 points in his last two games, after a total of 31 in his previous six games.
NCAA 2021 Men’s Tournament Odds Tracker
Tennessee failed to score more than 65 points in any of its conference losses and skyrocketed 36% on Saturday.
Senior striker John Fulkerson and junior point guard Victor Bailey Jr. are down.
Fulkerson averaged just 5.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in his last seven games and was not a starter against LSU. He posted averages of 12.2 and 6.2 in the first 12 games of the season.
Here’s Fulkerson when things are going well.
It is a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s John Fulkerson. ” pic.twitter.com/koDXayrU1y
– Most important issues (@More_Issues) February 14, 2019
Bailey averaged 13.4 points and hit 48.3% with 3 points in the first nine games. Those numbers have dropped to 6.2 and 27.6% in the last 10 games.
Tennessee is the nation’s third in defensive efficiency, allowing 87.3 points per 100 possessions, according to KenPom. However, Volunteers dropped an average of 66.3 in the last five games of the conference, after yielding 52.7 in the first seven.
Fighting in South Carolina
South Carolina’s defeats continued on Saturday when it fell 81-74 in the Mississippi home decision as a favorite by one point. Gamecocks are shooting at 38% and allowing 79 points per game during their losing streak.
Junior guard AJ Lawson led South Carolina with 22 points, although he scored just 4 out of 12 out of 3 points. He has scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games and has a season average of 17.9, along with 1.6 steals per game.
OH MY, AJ LAWSON! 😱 pic.twitter.com/o2GK2rK2V8
– SEC Network (@SECNetwork) February 20, 2019
Lawson fought in four career games against Tennessee, scoring 31 points from 10 of 36 shots to 27.8%.
South Carolina forced Ole Miss to 20 turns and 14 steals, including three from striker Justin Minaya. However, the rebels still hit 50%, while South Carolina turned the ball 19 times and hit 40%.
Big Willy in two digits after Key’s dead end. 💪#Gamecocks // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/XejWd8BFlI
– Gamecock MBB (@GamecockMBB) February 14, 2021
Second-year striker Wildens Leveque scored 13 points in just his third double-digit game of the season.
Second-year guard Trae Hannibal scored 12 points, the best of his career, in 18 minutes of reserve.
Fulkerson’s awakening?
Perhaps the clash with South Carolina will wake Fulkerson, who had 40 points and 19 rebounds last season when Tennessee shared two games with the Gamecocks.
Volunteers won 56-55 at home as a seven-point favorite and South Carolina won the 63-61 rematch as a three-point pick at Columbia.
Tennessee has been fighting offensively, but South Carolina’s falling defense is the perfect tonic for Volunteers to come out of their slump.
Choice: Tennessee -10 (-110)
John perrotto
Sports writer
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various vehicles for over 40 years. His work has appeared in companies such as USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest and more. John lives in Beaver Falls, PA.