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Texas vs. Tennessee prediction and odds for Saturday, January 28 (Longhorns are live underdogs)

By Iain MacMillan

AMES, IA - JANUARY 17: Tyrese Hunter #4 of the Texas Longhorns brings the ball down court in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 17, 2023 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 78-67 over the Texas Longhorns. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images)
AMES, IA - JANUARY 17: Tyrese Hunter #4 of the Texas Longhorns brings the ball down court in the second half of play at Hilton Coliseum on January 17, 2023 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 78-67 over the Texas Longhorns. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /
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If you like the color orange, you’re going to love watching today’s Big 12 vs. SEC showdown between the Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers.

In what is set to be one of the best games of the day, two top 10 teams, each with a 17-3 record, will battle it out.

Let’s dive into the odds for the game and then I’ll give you my best bet.

Texas vs. Tennessee odds, spread, and total

Texas vs. Tennessee prediction and pick

I don’t know if Texas can win this game outright, but I’ll certainly grab them getting 5.5 points.

First things first, the Longhorns are the better offensive team, and there’s no arguing that fact. They rank 30th in the country in effective field goal percentage, while the Volunteers come in at 141st.

The big question is whether or not Texas can hang around with Tennessee defensively, and there’s one key factor that makes me think they can.

Sure, Texas isn’t close to Tennessee in terms of shooting defense. The Volunteers have the lowest opponent effective field goal percentage in college basketball. But, there’s one thing Texas can do better, and that’s force turnovers.

The Longhorns rank 19th in the country in opponent turnovers per possession, forcing their opponents to cough it up on 22.7% of their possessions.

Now, they face a Tennessee team that turns the ball over on 19.1% of their possessions, which ranks 245th in the country.

I think Texas can do enough to at least keep this game close, if not win it outright.

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