Tennessee vs. Kansas: College Basketball Odds & Picks (Wednesday)

It's been a solid start to the season and is only getting more exciting with Feast Week upon us. Tonight features an excellent slate as the Maui Invitational features the championship game, and the Battle 4 Atlantis begins along with multiple other in-season tournaments.

We are starting to get some valuable data and seeing where some of the elite teams sit. As always, be sure to shop around for the best odds. It may not be Thanksgiving yet, but let's eat early with some winning bets, shall we?

Here are my best bets for Wednesday’s slate. Below we dive into Tennessee vs. Kansas.

Wednesday’s College Basketball Best Bets: Tennessee vs. Kansas

Last Time: 1-2 | Season: 11-6

Tennessee vs. Kansas

The third-place game in the Maui Invitational is a true delight, with the seventh and ninth-best teams facing off via KenPom. I won't bury the lede here: Tennessee is the better team.

Dalton Knecht was held (yes, held) to 16 points and was quiet in the second half. Tennessee committed 30 fouls with Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka fouling out. They also surrendered 17 offensive rebounds to Purdue, shot 26.7% from beyond the arc and still only lost by four to the Boilermakers. They had plenty of open shots but left a lot on the table, with nine missed free throws and plenty of missed opportunities.

Sure, Kansas had missed opportunities, too. But scoring 59 points against Marquette is concerning, mainly when they limited the Golden Eagles to 24% shooting from deep. Dickinson will have his work cut out for him, with Tennessee ranking second-best in mid-range defense and 20th in near-proximity. To beat Kentucky, Dickinson and Dajuan Harris had to go nuclear, with Harris shooting 5-6 from beyond the arc. Facing off against the No. 1 KenPom defense, after playing two straight days, is concerning to me for what this KU offense will be able to manage. This will be another elite battle, but I am surprised when I say I trust Tennessee's capacity to score more tonight.

I expect them to stay around the perimeter more, with Haslametrics projecting over 40% of their looks to come from deep tonight. After going 8-30 from deep yesterday, that number is due for positive regression. Combine that with an expected struggle for Kansas offensively, and I will take Tennesee out right here.

Play: Tennessee ML (+100 via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday: