NCAA Basketball Pick: Kansas vs. Tennessee Odds: January 10th 2010

Kansas vs. Tennessee
Free Pick: Kansas -5 -110 odds
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Tennessee put together a total team effort in their 88-71 win over Charlotte on Wednesday night. That was their first game playing without the four players who were suspended indefinitely after getting arrested on gun and marijuana possession chargers. Two of those four were starters in Tyler Smith and Cameron Tatum, and Melvin Goins and Brian Williams were key pieces off the bench. But the team rallied together and played a fantastic game in their absence.

We often see this in sports; the star player is out and the team plays more together and usually gets an impressive win. The problem comes in the next game when the team fails to repeat that effort and usually suffers a letdown. And when we add in the fact that the Vols shot an incredible 57.6% from the field in their big win over Charlotte, it’s easy to envision a lesser performance this afternoon.

There’s no doubt that Kansas is the most talented team in the country. The Jayhawks lay over Tennessee talent wise even if the Vols were playing with their full compliment of players. And now with the Vols missing four of their top 8 guys, Kansas’ talent edge will be even more prominent.

What keeps this play from being stronger is this quote by Kansas head coach Bill Self: ‘No matter what happens Sunday, it’s not as important as what happens Wednesday. I’ve always felt that non-conference games are not as important as conference games. I’m really looking forward to us getting back at a decent time so we can start preparing for Nebraska. The conference season is the more important.”