Tennessee vs. North Carolina Preview; How to Watch, Prediction, Best Bet

The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge continues tonight with many marquee matchups. One of those matchups takes place at the Dean Smith Center, where the 17-ranked UNC Tar Heels host the No. 10 Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee is looking to get back on track after a winless Maui Invitational, while the Tar Heels have looked like one of the best teams in the country following an extremely disappointing season last year.

UNC is currently a slight favorite to hand Rick Barnes’ team its third straight loss, but can the “Vols” go into Chapel Hill and win as underdogs?

Read below for our complete guide to this huge early-season showdown.

How to Watch

Tennessee vs. North Carolina can be seen on ESPN and the ESPN App. The SEC/ACC tilt tips off at 7:15 Eastern time with Karl Ravech and Jimmy Dykes on the call. Myron Medcalf will be providing reports from the sidelines.

Tennessee Volunteers Team Preview

The Tennessee Volunteers challenged themselves in the early season by accepting an invite to a LOADED Maui Invitational Tournament featuring top-ranked Purdue, Kansas, and Marquette.

Rick Barnes’ tournament reputation took another hit, as the “Vols” dropped both of their games, albeit by single digits.

Even at 4-2, this team is one of the nations best.

Guard Dalton Knecht is the team’s main scorer. The senior from Colorado is averaging 17.5 points per game this season, including two solid performances in the Maui Invitational against Purdue (16 points) and Kansas (13 points).

Knecht’s backcourt mates, Jordan Gainey and Josiah-Jordan James, are the next two highest scoring players on the Vols, averaging 13 and 9 points repectively.

Those three lead the way on the offensive end, while the front court of Jonas Aidoo (2 Blocks per game) and Santiago Vescovi (1.2 steals per game) headline Tennessee’s disruptive defense that holds opponents to just under 62 points per game.

Rick Barnes has assembled arguably the best defensive team in the country. If Dalton Knecht and Jordan Gainey can continue to carry the “Vols” offensively, the sky is the limit on Rocky Top.

North Carolina Tar Hells Team Preview

Plenty of noise was made this offseason when Caleb Love decided to leave UNC for Arizona, seemingly leaving UNC in an even worse place than he left it a season ago.

Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels have been just fine.

This team is still loaded, with seniors RJ Davis and Armando Bacot leading the way offensively by averaging a combined 34 points per game.

Stanford transfer Harrison Ingram has fit in nicely as a compliment, averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds to help facilitate the front court to back-court duo of Bacot and Davis.

The Tar Heels are an offensive machine that just out-talented and out-scored a very good Arkansas team in the “Battle 4 Atlantis” Tournament.

North Carolina’s lone loss in that tournament, and this season, came in overtime to a solid Villanova squad, showing the Tar Heels have bounced back from the disaster of last season to be a contender for the ACC Crown.

Whereas Tennessee will go as far as the defense and timely offense takes them, this UNC team will go as far as their shooting takes them.

Best Bet

As much as I like UNC as a scoring juggernaut, Tennessee also has a good amount of scoring talent and arguably the best defense in the country.

I think the Volunteers would be favored by 5 or 6 points if this game were played on a neutral court, and considering it’s finals week on a weekday, I’m going to discount the home court advantage ever-so-slighty.

Betting on the “Vols” as underdogs is the right play here, especially considering they’ve lose two in a row.

Prediction

Refer to the best bet section. I believe Tennessee is too hungry for a win to lose this one. I’d rather take the side with a great defense that is going to come out with great defensive intensity than hope UNC simply out score them.

That being said, the offensive firepower of the Tar Heels is no joke. RJ Davis and Harrison Ingram are going to frustrate Rocky Top all night with outside shooting, but the presence of Jonas Aidoo on the inside is enough to give Tennessee the edge.

The Volts take down the Tar Heels, 73-69