Tennessee basketball is 4.5-point favorites over UCLA in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 132.5. KenPom predicts Tennessee to earn a 67-62 victory.
The Vols are 18-16 against the spread this season after failing to cover in their NCAA Tournament opening win over Wofford. The over has hit in 15 Tennessee games this season while the under has hit 19 times. UCLA is 18-13-1 against the spread this season after covering in its NCAA Tournament win over Utah State. The over has hit in 15 UCLA games this season and the under has hit 17 times.
Tennessee is in the Round of 32 for the fourth straight season and is looking to make the Sweet 16 for the third straight season. A win over UCLA would mark the first time in program history that Tennessee has made the Sweet 16 in three straight seasons.
The Vols didn’t rout 15-seed Wofford in their NCAA Tournament opener but the Terriers never truly threatened. Behind 29 points from star shooting guard Chaz Lanier and a 12-point, 12-assist double-double from Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee earned a 77-62 victory over the Terriers.
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UCLA earned a seven-seed in the NCAA Tournament after posting a 22-10 (13-7 Big 10) record entering the Big Dance. Mick Cronin’s sixth UCLA team lost four straight games in January but got on a roll after that and won nine of its final 13 regular season games.
The Bruins were impressive in their NCAA Tournament opening round game. UCLA dominated 10-seed Utah State 72-47 behind a phenomenal team defense performance and double-digit scoring performances from Skyy Clark, Eric Dailey and Aday Mara.
UCLA is looking to get back to the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Cronin and for the first time since the 2023 season when they lost in the Sweet 16.
Tipoff between Tennessee and UCLA is at 9:40 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena on Saturday night. Both TBS and TruTv are broadcasting the game.
