NCAA Tournament Predictions: Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee

Written March 17, 2009 by Jason Lowry

tennessee-oklahoma-state-basketball With the NCAA Tournament starting in just a matter of days, there is little time to get your brackets just right before the games get underway. I am going to focus on the No.8 vs. No.9 matchup in the East Region that has the Tennessee Volunteers taking on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. This game should be one of the best opening round games of the entire tournament, as both teams have outstanding players, and teams that can beat anyone if they are playing their best basketball. The game is scheduled for Friday afternoon in Dayton, OH and the winner will most likely have a 2nd round matchup with the No.1 seeded Pittsburgh Panthers. Here is a look at how each team got to the tournament, and my prediction on who I think will win this game.

No.8 Oklahoma State Cowboys +2 ATS at Bookmaker.com. The Cowboys tied for the 4th best record in the Big 12, and likely secured their at-large bid to the tournament with their 71-70 win over Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys come into the tournament playing some pretty strong basketball winning 8 of their last 10 games. The Cowboys will have their hands full against the Volunteers in this game, but the Cowboys have a pretty strong attack of their own, as they have 4 players averaging over 12.5 points per game, including a team best from James Anderson, who averages a solid 18.6 points per game. The Cowboys have to take control of the game early and take Tennessee out of their game, and start making them play 1 on 1 basketball if they want to win this game, as I feel the Vols are just to good when they are playing team basketball.

No.9 Tennessee Volunteers -2 ATS at Bookmaker.com. The Volunteers are a pretty streaky team, as they could win this game by 20 just as easily as they could lose this game by 20. There is no question that the Vols are battle tested going into the tournament, as they played the No.2 strength of schedule in the country, and are likely better than the No.9 seed they received. Either way they can’t complain about it now, as they have to focus on the task at hand. The Vols have talent all over the court in J.P. Prince, Wayne Chism, and Tyler Smith. In my opinion Smith has to take control of this team and make sure they play together, as they easily have the talent to not only win this game, but possibly make a deep run into the tournament.

My Prediction: Tennessee Volunteers -2. I believe the Volunteers will be to much to handle for the Cowboys in this one, as I think the Vols Tyler Smith will take over this game and carry the Vols to a win. I think the game will be close down to the wire, with the Vols winning by 5-6 points.

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