Tennessee Volunteers vs. Pittsburgh Panthers Picks: 2010 College Basketball Picks

The Volunteers are in great shape this year, as they should be able to take advantage of a relatively soft SEC. However, in order to really challenge for a National Championship, you have to be able to beat teams like this one, and you are going to have to prove that you can do in anywhere in the country. The first huge test for Tennessee was passed with flying colors right after Thanksgiving, as the men from Rocky Top were able to trounce the Villanova Wildcats at Madison Square Garden 78-68. There has only been one game since then, a romp over the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders, and there has now been an 11 day layoff. Head Coach Bruce Pearl has found himself a fantastic freshman in Tobias Harris. There isn’t much that the big man can’t do, as he has proven that he can stroke the ball from anywhere on the court, and he is now the squad’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game. As always, Scotty Hopson is like the glue for this team. He is averaging 16.3 points per game and is well on his way to All-SEC honors, just like Harris probably will be in his first year in Knoxville.

Pittsburgh has its share of fantastic athletes that can score as well. Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker make up one of the best backcourts that the Big East has to offer, and many think that these two are going to ultimately lead the Panthers to the Final Four this year. Gibbs is lighting it up, shooting 45.8 percent from beyond the arc and parlaying that into 17.4 points per game, while Wanamaker isn’t all that far behind at 12.8 points per game. The Panthers haven’t really had a tough game since playing at Madison Square Garden against the Maryland Terrapins and Texas Longhorns on back to back nights, disposing of both teams and splitting the proceedings on the college basketball odds. Since that point, there have been nothing but beatdowns, as foes have been trounced by the Panthers by an average of 21.2 points per game. The big time discrepancy here between U-Pitt and most of its foes is on the glass. The Panthers are averaging a whopping 45.1 rebounds per game in a scheme that typically calls for slowing down the tempo at times. To make matters worse for opponents, they are averaging 20 boards per game less at just 25.2.

We absolutely love teams with big time inside games, but this is Harris’ time. The frosh is going to show the rest of the world in a nationally televised game why he was one of the best recruits in the country this year. The Panthers might still win this one, but there is no way that the Vols don’t at least stay remotely close to stick in front of the college basketball odds.