Tennessee Volunteers vs Virginia Cavaliers Prediction, 3/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tennessee Volunteers vs Virginia Cavaliers

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Virginia (+2)

The Virginia Cavaliers (30-5) will play the Tennessee Volunteers (23-11) at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Sunday in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee is 2-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 137.

The Tennessee Volunteers stepped onto the hardwood against Miami and earned the victory with a final of 78-56 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Volunteers walked away with 14 and Miami totaled 14 fouls. They also made 7 of their 29 tries from 3-point land. Miami walked away from this one shooting 78.6% from the charity stripe by making 11 of their 14 shots. On top of that, Miami pulled down 22 rebounds (8 offensive, 14 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Miami recorded 8 assists and had 8 steals for this contest. In regard to defense, Tennessee allowed 35.2% from the floor on 19 out of 54 shooting. They also recorded 19 assists in the matchup in addition to forcing 11 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When talking about hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 33 with 9 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Volunteers converted 7 of 10 tries for a rate of 70.0%. Tennessee finished the contest having earned a 52.5% FG percentage (31 out of 59) and converted 9 of 20 shots from beyond the arc.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is one player who came through for the contest. He went 52.4% from the field and totaled 9 assists. He was on the court for 36 mins played and also collected 3 rebounds. He ended up finishing with 29 points on 11 of 21 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Parlay Picks

Tennessee enters this matchup with a mark of 23-11 on the year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.8 times per game and as a group they commit 17.8 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Tennessee is collecting 42.6 rebounds per game and has accumulated 577 dimes for the year, which is 25th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Volunteers are connecting on 33.8% on shots from distance (223 of 660) and 69.4% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 79.4 points per game (92nd in D-1) while hitting 46.4% from the field.

Defensively, the Volunteers are able to force 11.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They currently rank 18th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 360 surrendered this year. The Volunteers defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 40.8% (794 of 1,948) and they surrender 29.6 boards per game as a team. They relinquish 30.3% from 3-point land and they rank 55th in college in PPG allowed (69.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Virginia Cavaliers took home the win by a final score of 82-73 when they played Wright State. When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, Virginia permitted Wright State to pull down 22 in all (7 offensive). They finished shooting 41.9% from 3-point land by shooting 13 out of 31 and ended up shooting 10 out of 11 at the charity stripe (90.9%). The Cavaliers permitted Wright State to make 25 of 61 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.0% in the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Cavaliers finished the game shooting 28 out of 54 from the floor which had them at 51.9%. In terms of 3-pointers, Virginia buried 13 out of their 26 attempts (50.0%). They were able to knock down 13 of them for a rate of 92.9%. Wright State committed 14 fouls in the game which got the Cavaliers to the free throw line for a total of 14 shots. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 4 steals for this game. The Cavaliers were able to corral 25 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards totaling 32 in the matchup.

Jacari White pitched in for the Cavaliers in this contest. He racked up 26 points in his 24 mins on the court and accounted for 1 assist for the game. He knocked down 10 out of 12 for this game giving him a rate of 83.3%, and totaled 3 rebounds.

Virginia has a win-loss record of 30-5 on the year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Cavaliers are hitting on 46.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 101st in college. Virginia has totaled 2,824 pts so far this season (80.7 per game) and they grab 40.2 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 16.4 times per contest (44th in college) and they are giving up possession 10.9 times per contest. The Cavaliers have committed 17.3 fouls every game and they connect on 73.1% from the charity stripe.

The Cavaliers on the defensive end are ranked 49th in the nation in PPG allowed with 68.5. They are able to force 10.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.6% from the floor (14th in D-1). The Virginia defense allows 31.3% on 3-point attempts (246 of 786) and opponents are making 76.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They concede 11.7 dimes and 32.5 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 56th and 67th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Virginia (+2)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here