Updated Tennessee vs. Longwood Odds, Spread, Pick & Predictions for 2022 NCAA Tournament

by BettingPros Staff |
Mar 14, 2022

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Longwood Lancers 2022 NCAA Tournament Game Preview

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Tennessee Volunteers vs. Longwood Lancers Match Up Overview

	Longwood	Tennessee
Conference	Big South	SEC
W-L	26-6	25-7
AdjEM	144th	8th
AdjO	115th	26th
AdjD	191st	3rd
Tempo	236th	155th
eFG%	105th	159th
TO%	194th	132nd
OR%	20th	45th
FTR	49th	197th
DeFG%	208th	35th
DTO%	77th	15th
DR%	47th	155th
DFTR	85th	216th
Luck	21st	83rd

Stats via KenPom.

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Tennessee Volunteers Preview

Tennessee has quietly put together one of the best resumes in the nation. None of their losses came to a team lower than 25th in the KenPom rankings, and the Volunteers hold wins over teams such as Arizona, LSU, Kentucky, Auburn, and Arkansas.

What worries me most about this team is that all of their losses came away from home. The Vols were essentially two different teams in and out of Thompson-Boling Arena, so keep that in mind when betting spreads in this tournament.

Regardless, Rick Barnes' crew is incredibly talented. Kennedy Chandler is a talented scorer and distributor, Josiah-Jordan James is an effective rebounder, and Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler are not only on the all-name team but are solid contributors as well.

Where the Volunteers shine is on defense. Their defense ranks third in the nation, and the Vols rank 13th in turnover percentage. This allows them to keep up with any team in the nation, even if they are off on the offensive side of the ball. I have more trust in Tennessee because of what they do when they don't have the ball. This team is capable of winning it all in April.

Longwood Lancers Preview

The Longwood Lancers, one of the least-known programs in the tournament, have earned their way into the Big Dance. Now theyâ€™re hoping to light a fire and earn national recognition. After running the table in the Big South Tournament and going 15-1 in the conference, the Lancers earned an auto-bid and a shot at a pulling a major upset.

Justin Hill is the do-it-all guard for the Lancers, facilitating sharpshooting guard DeShaun Wade, who has knocked down three-pointers at a 46.6% clip this season. Longwood ranks eighth in 3p%.

The Lancers have a dynamic offense all around, with their ability to reach the charity stripe, and rebound missed shots. In the paint, they falter, shooting just 53% from close proximity. While Longwoodâ€™s numbers are promising, their schedule strength is not. Longwood only played one team ranked higher than 100 all season: Iowa in their very first game. They don't have a win over a top-150 squad.

I expect this crew to get some culture shock. The athleticism of an upper-tier program could lead to Longwood getting run out of the gym. We will see if Griff Aldrich can game-plan to adjust to these more athletic teams and give his Lancers a shot at an upset.

Rapid Prediction for Tennessee Volunteers vs. Longwood Lancers

The Tennessee Volunteers ended up winning the SEC tournament, winning the championship game against a Texas A&M team that didn't even make the NCAA Tournament. Still, in that conference tourney run, Tennessee upset Kentucky and proved how good a team they can actually be. The Volunteers dominate the offensive glass and have defended at one of the highest levels in college basketball this season. With Tennessee forcing turnovers at a rate of nearly 23%, any mid-major team would have trouble facing the Vols. Longwood will be no different. After winning the Big South, the Lancers got an automatic bid. However, the defense for the Lancers has been suspect. Tennessee should cruise.

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Longwood Lancers Round 1 Game Pick

Tennessee -17

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