Tennessee faces South Florida in first round of NCAA Tournament

Published Mar. 21, 2025 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

South Florida Bulls (23-10, 16-4 AAC) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (22-9, 9-9 SEC)

Columbus, Ohio; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Volunteers -18.5; over/under is 146.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 20 Tennessee plays in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament against South Florida.

The Volunteers' record in SEC games is 9-9, and their record is 13-0 against non-conference opponents. Tennessee is fifth in the SEC in rebounding averaging 37.2 rebounds. Lazaria Spearman paces the Volunteers with 6.1 boards.

The Bulls' record in AAC action is 16-4. South Florida ranks fourth in the AAC with 10.8 offensive rebounds per game led by L'or Mputu averaging 3.4.

Tennessee averages 10.1 made 3-pointers per game, 4.8 more made shots than the 5.3 per game South Florida allows. South Florida averages 5.3 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.4 more makes per game than Tennessee allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Spearman is averaging 11.5 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Volunteers. Jewel Spear is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Sammie Puisis is averaging 14.8 points for the Bulls. Carla Brito is averaging 12.6 points and 9.7 rebounds over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Volunteers: 6-4, averaging 79.0 points, 34.8 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 8.3 steals and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.3 points per game.

Bulls: 8-2, averaging 68.1 points, 35.8 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 7.8 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 40.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 61.9 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.