Tennessee is coming off a bye week, thus having nearly two full weeks to prepare for this one. And the Vols played their best game in the short Lane Kiffin era before the bye, beating Georgia 45-19. UT QB Jonathan Crompton is much-maligned in Knoxville, but he threw for 310 yards and four TDs against the Dawgs. It appears Kiffin is loosening the leash on Crompton a bit, and the senior has not thrown more than one pick or had less than two TD passes in a game since the Florida loss.

Also, the Tide have played back-to-back physical games against ranked teams and might not feel too threatened by a Tennessee team that Alabama has beaten by a combined 70-26 the past two seasons. The fact that Bama moved up to No. 1 does not bode well for a straight-up Tennessee upset when pondering the college football odds on this one. UT is 2-7 against the No. 1 team all-time but hasn’t beaten once since 1985. Plus the ranked or higher-ranked team has a 45-9-2 record in the series.

The Vols do have a good defense, as Florida can attest, so look for them to focus on stopping red-hot Alabama RB Mark Ingram with Bama QB Greg McElroy struggling lately (no TD passes in past two games, two picks last week). Ingram might be the Heisman favorite after rushing for 246 yards last week against South Carolina. He also shares the team lead with 19 catches, and his 30 runs of 10-plus yards leads the nation.

Bet on college football at Bodog.
Don't have an account? Join Bodog now. It's FREE.

For the Vols to have success in the tournament they really need to ramp up the defensive intensity and hope they get a somewhat favorable draw. The Volunteers are a boom-or-bust team that could make it to the Sweet 16 or lose in the first round.

The Cowboys didn’t look like a tournament team after starting 3-6 in the Big 12. But the perimeter-oriented Cowboys righted themselves starting in mid-February. They can be fun to watch because of their frenetic pace, and their 3-point shooting can keep them in games.

Tennessee is a slight 2-point favorite, but to be honest, it is a crapshoot.

Tennessee will try for its 17th consecutive SEC home victory. The last loss came 80-78 to Kentucky on March 1, 2006. That game followed a loss to Arkansas, marking the last time the Vols dropped consecutive home games.

Even though the Wildcats are 0-3 versus ranked opponents this season, these teams have split the last two season series, with the home team winning every contest. Kentucky had won four in a row at Thompson-Boling prior to 2006-07.

The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings. Get your college basketball odds with Bodog to get in on all the action.

Gonzaga, which looked like a Final Four favorite in its win at the Thanksgiving tournament, has fallen on harder times since win. The Zags have lost three games in a row to Connecticut, Portland State, and Utah, which has them tumbling down the rankings fast.

Tennessee has played much better at home this season where they are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five home games. Hostile road games have exposed Tennessee's lack of toughness and that has led to an 0-3 ATS mark away from home.

Get your college basketball odds and all your other online sports betting needs.

The only question is whether or not the Volunteers will show up. They were upset by UCLA (+7) in the opener and failed to cash in against UAB (+33) in Week 3.  But this is also a team that is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games at home.

Florida has no glaring weaknesses to speak of. The offense welcomes Percy Harvin (9.2 yards per carry last year – yes, 9.2) back to full-time duty, the defense held the Miami Hurricanes to three points, and the special teams are brilliant with punter Chas Henry and the Florida coverage units pinning opponents deep. Gotta go with the Gators.

Rick Pitino's Cardinals were too big for the Volunteers, blowing them out by 19 points. (AP Images)

Louisville proved that size does matter and routed Tennessee 79-60.

Louisville opened up the contest with stiffling defense and led by as many as 16 points in the first half. Tennessee tried to use their speed and frantic play to get themselves back in the game – at one point they only trailed by a field goal – but Louisville clamped back down on D and pulled away.

The Cardinals outrebounded the Volunteers 42-24 and shot 51 percent from the field while holding the Volunteers to 33 percent.

Louisville had five players in double digits, lead by Earl Clark who scored 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Tennessee's Chris Lofton had another rough outing, he scored 15 points but shot three of 15 from the field.

Oddsmakers made Louisville 2.5-point favorites in the contest and the Cardinals easily covered in their 19-point win.

Get complete March Madness Sweet 16 results in the Bodog Sportsbook, where you will also find college basketball lines on all the games in the NCAA Tournament.

Can Brook Lopez do it again for Stanford when they play Texas in the Sweet 16? (AP Images)

Brook Lopez came up big on Saturday. Stanford's leading scorer put up 30 points against Marquette to advance the Cardinal to the Sweet 16. His baseline leaner with just 1.3 seconds left in overtime was the winner, even if "nothing but net" it wasn't.

Brook's twin, Robin Lopez, also had himself a game, adding 18 points and snatching nine rebounds in the team's 82-81 victory.

The Lopez's performances overshadowed what would’ve been the big story had the Golden Eagles won the game: the first-half ejection of Stanford coach Trent Johnson, not the greatest show of composure by someone who should know better. As ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski writes, "There are certain things you never, ever do as a coach. Wearing checks with stripes is one. Asking your AD, 'Where is this NCAA rule book you speak of?' And in Johnson's case, the Cardinal sin: getting thrown out of the most important game of your season."

Thanks to his players, Johnson will have a shot at redemption against Texas, a team that has to like its chances playing in front of what should be a decidedly burnt-orange-clad crowd in Houston. Oddsmakers agree, favoring the No. 2 seed by two points.

Some Betting Trends to Consider:

• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Stanford's last 7 games
• Stanford is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
• Stanford is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
• Texas is 14-2 SU in its last 16 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Texas's last 6 games
• Texas is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games

NCAA College Basketball Betting!

Rick Pitino's Louisville Cardinals are -2.5 point favorites against Tennessee in the Sweet 16. (AP Images)

Louisville (-2.5) must now be considered one of the sleeper picks to win the tournament. They've got a national title-winning coach, depth, size (four players over 6 feet 9 inches averaging at least 18 minutes a game) and now, momentum.

While the opposition hasn't been great – Boise State didn't have the talent, Oklahoma didn't have the backcourt – Louisville's tournament resume thus far has been impressive because of its variety. Balanced scoring is the name of the game; seven players had at least seven points against Oklahoma while six did it against Boise State.

But that's Tennessee's (+2.5) game as well. With Chris Lofton doing his best Houdini act through two games – the senior All-American has just 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting – other Vols have, uh, volunteered their scoring. Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism stepped up with 15 and 16 points each. Role player J.P. Prince had a tremendous all-around game with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Despite the wealth of options both Rick Pitino and Bruce Pearl possess, it's the types of options that'll make the difference. Check out the difference in frontcourt depth between Louisville and Tennessee:

Some Betting Trends to Consider:

• Louisville is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tennessee
• Louisville is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games
• Louisville is 11-2 ATS in its last 13 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Louisville's last 5 games
• Tennessee is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tennessee's last 6 games
• Tennessee is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Louisville

NCAA College Basketball Betting!

Chris Lofton only scored five points as Tennessee got by American. (AP Images)

With just five minutes left and their lead cut to 53-51, the Tennessee Volunteers knew they had to turn it up in order to get rid of the pesky American Eagles.

They did just that. Led by JaJuan Smith's 19 points, the No. 2 Vols finished strong to put away their upstart No. 15 opponent 72-57 in East Regional action.

It was an odd game that started quite early – 11:15 a.m. to be exact – but the early rise didn't affect Patriot League MVP Garrison Carr. The junior guard scored a game-high 26 points to keep American in it for most of the contest.

But in the end it was too much talent from Tennessee, who spent a whopping one week atop the AP polls this season. Wayne Chism and Chris Lofton are the types of players that would only set foot on the American U campus on a vacation – simply put, the Vols were by far the better team but credit is due to the Eagles for putting up a fight for the full 40 minutes.

This was the second straight day where at No. 2 seed was freaked out by a No. 15. Yesterday, Duke barely escaped unheralded Belmont, narrowly edging the Braves 71-70.

Stay tuned for all your March Madness first round results and recaps!

March Madness odds

Chris Lofton's Vols are No. 1 in the SEC. (AP Images)

The Tennessee Volunteers made it official, capturing their Southeastern Conference regular-season title Sunday afternoon.

The fourth-ranked team in the nation beat South Carolina, 89-56, in Knoxville, Tenn., to cap a remarkable run by the squad’s three seniors. Chris Lofton, the school’s all-time leading scorer, had endured a 14-17 freshman season but has led the program’s turnaround.

Against the Gamecocks he had a team-high 28 points, including four three-pointers. JaJuan Smith added 17 points as Tennessee covered the point spread with ease. The Vols were favored by 15 at home.

In other notable college basketball games on Sunday:

Ohio State 63, No. 17 Michigan State 54: Jamar Butler had 20 points as the Buckeyes kept their March Madness hopes alive with a win over the Spartans in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State was favored by one point.

No. 20 Drake 79, Illinois State 49: Adam Emmenecker scored 16 points, capping an MVP performance in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and leading the Bulldogs to the title. Drake was favored by three in St. Louis.

Bet on March Madness!