NCAA Tournament: Tennessee vs. Iowa fearless prediction and game preview.
Broadcast
Date: Sunday, March 24
Game Time: Coming
Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Network: Coming
All You Really Need To Know About Iowa (23-11)
(Big Ten), NCAA NET Rank: 43. South 10-seed
The Hawkeyes got down early to Cincinnati, but they came back roaring in the second half, getting hot from three, and rallied back for an impressive 79-72 win. They managed to get tough on the inside when they had to, but they won by hitting the three – nailing 11-of-22 – and holding down the UC outside shooting game.
Built well for the tournament, they get to the line a whole lot, and they’re usually better than they showed against the Bearcats. The O moves the ball around well and does a great job of finding the open man – there are a whole bunch of wide-open threes. There’s balance, decent size, and now after the win over UC, a break from a bad finishing kick to the regular season.
All You Really Need To Know About Tennessee (30-5)
(SEC), NCAA NET Rank: 6. Midwest 2-seed
The Vols got out to a hot start against Colgate, but got pushed way, way, way too hard to get by in a rough 77-70 battle. What was the problem? The Raiders were red hot from three – hitting 54% of their tries – and now comes the adjustment. This is normally a decent defense from the outside, and it should clamp down a bit against the Hawkeye gunners.
Very athletic and very good on the interior, they don’t shoot a whole lot of threes, utilizing their great defense to get on the move for fast-break points and big scoring runs. It’s a smart, veteran group that doesn’t make a whole slew of mistakes and is good enough on the boards to hold its own against the Hawkeyes.
What’s Going To Happen
The Vols are good enough at defending the three, but they’re better at controlling the defensive interior. Iowa might move the ball around well, and Tennessee doesn’t come up with a ton of steals, but it’ll be the Vol offense that takes over in the second half.
Get ready for a whole lot of points in an up-and-down game that should help the deep Iowa team … right up until the Vols clamp down late. It’s going to be more of a war than Tennessee might like against a 10-seed, but after dealing with Colgate, it’s ready.
Fearless Prediction & Line
Tennessee 83, Iowa 78
Line: Coming, o/u: Coming
ATS Confidence: Coming
5: Watching games by Vegas pool working on fruity drink No. 3
1: Watching game online while doing TPS reports in your cubicle
