March Madness prediction: Can Texas upset Tennessee in SEC tournament
Texas basketball rode its momentum from Vanderbilt to a 94-89 double overtime win over Texas A&M Thursday in the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Next up for the Longhorns is an old rival. Tennessee, led by former Texas coach Rick Barnes, is ranked sixth by the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll and eliminated Texas from the NCAA Tournament last season. The Volunteers defeated the Longhorns 74-70 in their last regular season matchup.
A win over Tennessee would essentially lock Texas into the tournament and may even earn them a decent seed. Here's the prediction for the upcoming SEC matchup.
Why Texas could beat Tennessee
Texas has looked like a different team ever since entering the SEC tournament. Before Thursday, it hadn't won consecutive games since defeating Missouri and Texas A&M in late January. They've been taking care of the ball, with just six turnovers against a tough A&M defense and eight giveaways against Vanderbilt.
The return of Chendall Weaver has injected a spark into the Longhorns that's hard to replicate. He was out during Texas' last game against Tennessee, and could prove to be a difference maker. Not to mention freshman Tre Johnson's improvement since January. He could be due for a 30-point scoring outburst after a few games of low efficiency scoring.
Why Tennessee could beat Texas
Even in the crazy frenzy of the SEC, Tennessee has proven itself to be one of the top teams in college basketball. They have a mountain of quality wins over ranked teams, including a dominant 64-44 stomping of Florida earlier this season.
Tennessee guards Chaz Lanier and Zakai Zeigler are a better offensive duo than Wade Taylor IV and Zhuric Phelps, who struggled mightily against Texas' defense. The Vols also rank seventh in the country in scoring defense, giving up 61.9 points per contest.
Will Texas beat Tennessee?
Yes.
Texas got these two SEC tournament wins without Johnson scoring more than 20 points in either game. Maybe it's the teams the Longhorns played, or maybe Johnson is due for some shooting variance luck. He showed brief signs of breaking out against Texas A&M, and Texas' 84-79 win will be because of an electric performance from their freshman.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas vs Tennessee prediction: SEC tournament game pick
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