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The Tennessee Volunteers will face the Wofford Terriers in the NCAA Tournament first round on Thursday, with the Vols starting as huge 18.5 betting favorites. We name our NCAAB betting picks on the match in our Tennessee vs. Wofford preview.
- What: 2025 NCAA Tournament First Round
- Who: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Wofford Terriers
- Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
- When: Thursday, March 20th, 2025
- Tip-Off: 5.50 pm. ET
The No.2 seed Tennessee Volunteers start their campaign to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament against the No.15 Wofford Terriers.
On paper, it looks like a comfortable win for the Vols. Rick Barnes’ team could only manage fourth in the SEC regular season with a conference play record of 12-6, but don’t let that deceive you as the Southeastern is one of the more difficult conferences in college basketball.
Furthermore, Vol’s head coach Rick Barnes has only ever lost once at this stage of the tournament during his time in charge at the Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Terriers have a free shot at making a name for themselves. They are on a three-match winning streak and have Corey Tripp in good form, averaging 14.3 points and 3.2 assists per game. They have nothing to lose when they face Tennessee.
The winners of the match will face one of No.7 UCLA or No.10 Utah State on Saturday.
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Wofford Terriers Betting
The money line is a no-go in this match unless you are planning a wager on the Terriers to win.
The best March Madness betting sites make Tennessee -3600 to win on the money line. Wofford is +1500 to pull off what would surely be the biggest shock of the NCAA Tournament.
The Terriers are receiving an 18.5-point start on the handicap. Wofford is -110 to win with the points.
The Tennessee Volunteers are -110 to win and cover the 18.5-point spread.
The Vols have won 17 games against the spread this season and failed to cover 16 times. Tennessee also has a 5-3 record against the spread when starting as an 18.5-point (or higher) favorite.
The total line is set at 132.5. Both over and under is -110.
Matches involving the Volunteers have covered 133.5 points 19 times this season. Matches involving the Terriers have covered this mark 26 times.
You can check out more Tennessee Volunteers vs. Wofford Terriers NCAAB betting lines on our college basketball betting table. Our NCAAB odds are from the best college basketball betting sites.
| Tennessee vs. Wofford |  |  |  |
| Tennessee | -3600 | -3600 | -3600 |
| Wofford | +1500 | +1500 | +1500 |
| Tennessee (-18.5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Wofford (+18.5) | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 132.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 132.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee will start its bid to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament as the No.2 seed.
The Vols finished the regular season with a ten-point win over the South Carolina Gamecocks. The win left the Volunteers fourth in the SEC with a 12-6 conference play record.
Rick Barnes’ team then turned up the heat in the SEC Tournament. Seeded No.4, the Vols started with an eleven-point win over Texas in their quarter-final.
Tennessee then pulled off one of their best results of the season with a 70-65 semi-final win over the Auburn Tigers in the semifinals.
That set up a final against No.2 seed Florida. Unfortunately, the Vols couldn’t pull off a second win over higher-seeded opposition, losing 86-77 in Sunday’s final.
Tennessee is +350 to win the Midwest Regional and +2200 to win the NCAA Championship match.
Wofford Terriers
It’s probably fair to say that college basketball fans weren’t expecting to see the Wofford Terriers in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The Terriers finished sixth in the Southern with a conference play record of 10-8 and are 19-15 overall this season. They finished the regular season with two defeats in three matches.
The No.6 seed in the SoCon Tournament then won three matches in three days to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Wofford started by upsetting No.3 seed East Tennessee State in the first round with a 72-60 win. The Terriers then comfortably defeated No.7 VMI 85-65 in the semi-final.
They then won the title match 92-85 against Furman. The win put Wofford in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in history. And all this was achieved in only coach Dwight Perry’s third season.
Tennessee Volunteers vs. Wofford Terriers Betting Picks
Tennessee is looking to make it to the Final Four for the first time. The Vols always seem to underachieve in this competition, but they do tend to make it past the opening round before things start to go wrong.
Our match pick is for Tennessee to win and cover. They will be buoyed by their win over Auburn and keen to lay down an early marker with a statement win.
If you’re not convinced about a bet on the spread line, we are naming a pick on the total points.
The implied scoreline would seem to be 76-58 to the Vols.
Tennessee is averaging 74.7 points per match, and the Terriers 75.3.
The spread is 133.5, and although I don’t expect the teams to match their combined averages and score 150 points between them, I expect them to score over 133.5 points.
See below our list of the best offshore sportsbooks for US bettors in 2025 and choose the one that suits you best:
Sports Betting Sites 