Vols set sights on Aztecs in first-round action

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/18/2010 - Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In search of their first-ever NCAA Tournament win, the 11th-seeded San Diego State Aztecs take aim at the sixth- seeded Tennessee Volunteers in the first round at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The survivor of this Midwest Regional pairing will tangle with either Georgetown or Ohio University in the second round on Saturday.

The Aztecs have won nine of their last 10 games and included in that run is a victory over UNLV in the Mountain West Tournament title game on Saturday. It marked the third MWC Championship for SDSU, which is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2006. The Aztecs however, have yet to advance past the first round, although they came close in an 87-83 loss to Indiana in their last appearance.

On the flip side, the Vols received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after they were thrashed by Kentucky, 74-45, in the semifinals of the SEC Championship on Saturday. That loss obviously hurt the team's seeding, as Tennessee is sixth despite 25 wins, including triumphs over Kansas and Kentucky, two No.1 seeds in this event. The Vols are making their 18th NCAA Tournament appearance and fifth straight. Tennessee is 13-18 all-time in the event, including a 9-7 mark in the first round.

Tennessee has won both prior meetings with SDSU on the hardwood, with the last clash coming back in 1988.

If the Aztecs are to spring the upset tonight they will have to do so behind stingy defense and solid rebounding. Those are two areas the team has fared well in, as SDSU is holding foes to 61.8 ppg, while outrebounding them by 6.7 rpg. Kawhi Leonard has recorded 15 double-doubles on the season and he paces SDSU with 12.8 ppg, 9.9 rpg and 45 steals. The MWC Freshman of the Year showed his dominance on the glass by ripping down a whopping 21 caroms in the tourney title game. Malcolm Thomas also provides help on the boards with 7.8 rpg and he even chips in with 11.0 ppg. Billy White tacks on 11.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg for SDSU, while D.J. Gay contributes 10.3 ppg and 3.2 apg.

The Vols are averaging 73.6 ppg, but not at the expense of any defense, as they are forcing 16.8 turnovers per game and holding opponents to just 39.4 percent shooting from the field. Wayne Chism and Scotty Hopson are tied for the team-lead in scoring at 12.5 ppg, with Chism is also ripping down a team- high 7.1 rpg and Hopson recording 34 steals. Bobby Maze adds 9.6 ppg and 3.0 apg to the rotation for Tennessee, while J.P. Prince logs 9.3 ppg and a team- high 52 steals.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.