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How and what to watch for No. 18 Tennessee vs. Ole Miss

Tennessee and Ole Miss will match up in a game between two of the better defenses in the SEC.

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The Tennessee Volunteers cheerleaders perform during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Thompson-Boling Arena. Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Volunteers will look to move into a tie for second place in the SEC when they head on the road to take on the Ole Miss Rebels on Tuesday night.

Tennessee (12-3, 5-3) bounced back from consecutive losses to winning each of their last two games including an 80-61 home win over the Kansas Jayhawks in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. Senior guard Yves Pons scored 17 points in just 23 minutes of play on 7 of 9 shooting for the Volunteers. This is a very balanced scoring lineup with seven players averaging eight points or more. Defensively, Tennessee ranks second in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Ole Miss (8-8, 3-6 SEC) won two straight in mid-January, but the Rebels lost their last two games against the Arkansas Razorbacks and Georgia Bulldogs in a 71-61 road game on Saturday. The Rebels’ strength comes on the defensive side of the floor where they come in at No. 23 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Devontae Shuler is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 14.9 points with 3.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He and fellow guard Jarkel Joiner each shot 4 of 14 from the floor and will need to shoot better to pull off the upset.

Game Time/TV Channel/Streaming

You can watch Tennessee vs. Ole Miss on Tuesday, February 2nd at 7:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2, or you can stream it via the ESPN app with a cable or streaming service login. If you don’t have a cable login to access the app, you can get a free trial from YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, FuboTV, or Sling TV to stream it.

Point Spread, Totals, Odds, Trends (Updated 5:30 p.m.)

Point spread: Tennessee -3.5
Point total: 124
Money line: Tennessee -195, Ole Miss +160

Betting Splits (Updated 5:30 p.m.)

Tennessee: 88% of handle, 93% of bets
Ole Miss: 12% of handle, 7% of bets

  • Tennessee is 12-3 straight up in their last 15 games and 5-0 in their last five games against Ole Miss.
  • Ole Miss is 2-5 against the spread in their last seven games, and the under hit in seven of their last eight.

The Best Bet

This one could be ugly, but ugly should favor the second-best team by adjusted efficiency in America, which is the Vols. They should be able to get stops whenever needed here.

Pick: Tennessee -4

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