College Hoops Betting Picks – Bruce Pearl Returns To Coach Against Kentucky

The Tennessee Volunteers went 5-3 SU and ATS in college basketball betting picks during head coach Bruce Pearl’s eight game suspension. Now the boisterous sideline maniac is back just in time to face one of the SEC’s best teams. Will Pearl’s return be enough to keep Tennessee in the hunt?

If past records indicate anything, probably not. The Wildcats are 7-3 SU and 8-2 ATS when playing the Tennessee Volunteers. However, the Wildcats are also coming off two straight losses to Mississippi and Florida and are only three weeks removed from a loss to Alabama. Kentucky is just 2-3 SU and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games.

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Now is as good a time as any for the Volunteers to try and strike a balance in this lopsided series. A loss by either team would derail hopes in  tight races in the SEC East division. Kentucky has just as many conference losses as Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. Tennessee is hanging by a thread to their second place standing behind Florida in the division.

Tennessee Volunteers (15-8) vs. #18 Kentucky Wildcats (16-6)

Tuesday, February 8th — Rupp Arena — 9:00pm EST

College Hoops Betting Line: Kentucky -8.5

It’s obvious that part of Kentucky’s bigger troubles is that they were never able to deploy Turkish import EnesKanter, who was deemed ineligible by the NCAA for playing in the pro ranks overseas. Instead, Kentucky has had to lean on freshman forward Terrence Jones who has 17.9 points per game and sharp shooting Brandon Knight who has 17.5 points per game of his own.

Neither is a reincarnation of the Cousins-Wall combination from last year, but nobody is pretending like that’s the case. What people are pretending is that Kentucky is as good as they have been in years past. They’re not, and their 8-9 ATS record in college hoops betting picks shows it.

Tennessee may not have a whole lot of glitz and glamor, but they’re also 5-2 ATS on the road this season. That’s why they deserve some love, especially with Pearl returning to give them that extra boost they’ve sorely missed so far in conference play. Hell, it’s certainly not like the Vols have been that bad without Pearl in college hoops betting to begin with.

Furious College Hoops Betting Picks – Tennessee +8.5

BONUS PICKS!

#14 PURDUE BOILERMAKERS -13.5 over Indiana Hoosiers

The Hoosiers are a always hard to bet against, but at 8-9 ATS on the season they’re simply not holding much value in college hoops betting. They’re also 6-15 ATS in their past 21 road games and Purdue’s ability to play stringent defense and a high paced offense will be good enough in this one. Purdue is 7-3 ATS when playing at home this season.

Utah Utes +17.5 over #6 SAN DIEGO STATE AZTECS

The one-loss Aztecs have put the shellacking that Jimmer Fredette game them by winning their last three games since facing BYU, but they’re also just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games. Utah is streaky when it comes to playing on the road, but they’re also a modest 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games. I don’t trust San Diego State’s defense in big spread games like this, so take the Utes to cover in your college hoops betting picks.

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