Tennessee Volunteers vs South Carolina Gamecocks Prediction, 3/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs South Carolina Gamecocks

Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026

Location: Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC

TV: SEC Network

Colonial Life Arena is the location where the South Carolina Gamecocks (12-16) will take on the Tennessee Volunteers (20-8) on Tuesday.

The Tennessee Volunteers played Alabama and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 71-69 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Volunteers walked away with 15 while Alabama totaled 10 personal fouls. They converted 10 out of their 27 shots from 3-point range. Alabama ended up going 84.6% from the charity stripe by converting 11 of their 13 attempts. Furthermore, Alabama collected 25 rebounds (6 offensive, 19 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Alabama totaled 8 assists and had 3 steals for the matchup. With respect to the defense, Tennessee let their opponent shoot 44.6% from the field on 25 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 13 dimes in the matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 9 steals. With respect to grabbing boards, they compiled 45 with 24 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Volunteers buried 5 of their 8 tries for a percentage of 62.5%. Tennessee wrapped up the contest with a 38.5% FG percentage (30 out of 78) and knocked down 4 of their 18 three-point attempts.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is someone who was a major factor in this contest. He ended up with 26 points on 9 of 23 shooting. He played for 36 mins and grabbed 5 rebounds. He ended up going 39.1% from the floor and recorded 7 assists.

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Tennessee comes into this contest with a win-loss mark of 20-8 this year. They currently have an average of 80.5 points per contest (80th in the nation) while shooting 46.8% from the field. The Volunteers are shooting 34.7% on shots from beyond the arc (192 of 554) and 69.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Tennessee is grabbing 42.8 rebounds per contest and has 481 assists so far this year, which is 46th in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 12.4 times per contest and as a squad they commit 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on the defensive end, the Volunteers are forcing 11.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.3 fouls. They relinquish 30.2% on 3-pointers while they are 62nd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (69.1). The Volunteers defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 40.8% (661 of 1,621) and they relinquish 29.5 boards per contest as a team. They are 15th in college hoops in giving up assists with 305 surrendered this year.

For their last game, the South Carolina Gamecocks took a loss by a score of 87-68 when they played Georgia. The Gamecocks were able to pull down 19 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in this game. They turned the ball over 7 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. Georgia committed 18 personal fouls for this game which got the Gamecocks to the charity stripe for 23 tries. They were able to knock down 18 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 78.3%. Concerning shots from downtown, South Carolina converted 6 of their 24 attempts (25.0%). In all, the Gamecocks walked away from this one shooting 22 for 59 from the floor which had them at 37.3%. The Gamecocks allowed Georgia to make 32 out of 57 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 56.1% in this contest. They finished 40.0% from 3-point land by hitting 12 out of 30 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 13 at the free throw line (84.6%). In reference to rebounding, South Carolina permitted Georgia to pull down 28 in total (4 on the offensive glass).

Meechie Johnson Jr. was important for the Gamecocks in the matchup. He made 6 out of 14 in the game giving him a rate of 42.9%, and totaled 1 rebound. He recorded 20 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and tallied 4 assists in this matchup.

South Carolina has a record of 12-16 so far this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Gamecocks are hitting on 44.0% from the floor, which is ranked 264th in the nation. South Carolina has accumulated 2,133 points for the season (76.2 per game) and they collect 32.7 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 13.6 times per game (210th in college hoops) and they turn it over 9.9 times per game. The Gamecocks commit 17.8 personal fouls every game while shooting 78.9% from the charity stripe.

The South Carolina defense allows 31.6% on shots from beyond the arc (191 of 605) and their opponents are converting on 71.0% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 15.3 dimes and 36.8 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 302nd and 313th in D-1. The Gamecocks defensively are ranked 247th in college in PPG surrendered with 76.3. They are forcing their opponents into 10.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.9% from the floor (229th in D-1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Tennessee

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