Tennessee
UCLA vs. Tennessee Prediction: Odds, Expert Picks, Betting Trends and Stats for 2025 March Madness Round 2
The UCLA Bruins (23-10) take the court against the Tennessee Volunteers (28-7) in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Lexington, KY.
UCLA thumped Utah State, 72-47, on Thursday in the first round. Eric Dailey, Jr. and Skyy Clark paced the Bruins’ attack with 14 points apiece. UCLA was 10-24 from beyond the arc (41.7%).
Tennessee advanced to Saturday’s second round with a decisive victory of their own, dominating Wofford, 77-62. Chaz Lanier had 29 for the Vols in the win and the Tennessee defense allowed Wofford a mere 27 first half points.
The winner of this game earns a ticket to the Sweet 16.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch UCLA vs. Tennessee
- Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
- Time: 9:40PM EST
- Site: Rupp Arena
- City: Lexington, KY
- Network/Streaming: TBS / truTV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for UCLA vs. Tennessee
The latest odds as of Friday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: UCLA Bruins (+170), Tennessee Volunteers (-210)
- Spread: Volunteers -4.5
- Total: 132.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for UCLA vs. Tennessee
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Saturday’s Bruins & Volunteers game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on Tennessee -4.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Game Total OVER 132.5.
UCLA vs. Tennessee: Top betting trends and recent stats
- UCLA has covered the spread in 3 of their last 4 games
- UCLA Game Totals have cashed to the OVER in 3 of their last 4 games
- Tennessee did not cover as 18.5-point favorites against Wofford
- Tennessee is now 3-7 against the spread in their last 10 games
- The OVER has cashed in 5 of Tennessee’s last 6 games
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
· Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
Tennessee
Remembering one of Middle Tennessee’s largest tornado outbreaks 4 years later
Tennessee
Tracking Music City Bowl opt outs for Tennessee and Illinois
Tracking the opt outs for both Tennessee and Illinois before the Music City Bowl on December 30 (5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville:
Tennessee
Linebacker Arion Carter: Carter over the last seasons had 96 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 31 career games. He had a team-high 76 tackles this season, with 6.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks while appearing in 10 games. He missed two games and was limited against Oklahoma in November while dealing with turf toe injuries. Carter had 68 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss in 13 games last season and 17 tackles and 1.0 tackles for loss in eight games as a freshman in 2023.
Wide Receiver Chris Brazzell II: He a breakout senior season in his second year with the Vols, catching 62 passes for 1,017 yards and nine touchdowns. He had 19 catches for 333 yards and two touchdowns in 2024, after transferring from Tulane. In 15 games at Tulane he caught 45 passes for 722 yards and five touchdowns. Brazzell is ranked No. 7 at wide receiver on Mel Kiper Jr.’s NFL Draft Big Board. He’s ranked No. 34 overall on ESPN’s list of the best available prospects in the draft.
Cornerback Jermod McCoy: Did not play this season after tearing his ACL during offseason training in January. He was a star last season with 44 tackles, nine passes defended and four interceptions. He had 31 tackles and two interceptions in 12 games as a freshman at Oregon State before transferring to Tennessee.
Illinois
Offensive Tackle J.C. Davis: Bret Bielema said the Illinois starting left tackle is opting out of the Music City Bowl. He was an All-Big Ten First Team pick by the league coaches this season and the No. 3 left tackle this season according to Pro Football Focus grades. He had made 49 straight starts before opting out of the bowl game.
EDGE Gabe Jacas: The Illinois outside linebacker declared for the NFL Draft on Friday night. He led the Big Ten this season with 11.0 sacks. He had 13.5 tackles for loss and 43 total tackles in 12 games this season. He finishes second in Illinois program history for career sacks, with 27.0, trailing only Simeon Rice. Jacas had 74 tackles, 8.0 sacks and 13.0 tackles for loss last season, after combining for 8.0 sacks and 9.0 tackles for loss in his first two seasons at Illinois.
Tennessee
More than 8,500 layoffs hit Tennessee in 2025, nearly 19% increase from 2024
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee employers laid off more than 8,500 workers in 2025 compared to 7,320 last year, according to the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development.
This is about a 19% increase in layoffs, with WARN notices impacting 8,691 Tennesseans to date. As of 2023, 5,168 Tennessee workers were laid off through WARN notices.
Counties in Middle Tennessee impacted include:
- Davidson
- Sumner
- Maury
- Rutherford
- Williamson
- Wilson
- Coffee
- DeKalb
- Bedford
- Lawrence
- Putnam
The largest layoff this year was in Maury County. Come January, 710 employees will be laid off from GM Ultium Cells’ Spring Hill facility. Research Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville Michael Kofoed tells FOX 17 News that the facility is is likely impacted by the rise on steel tariffs ruled out by the Trump administration. He adds steel tariffs raise input costs for employers which directly impacts employees’ salary or employment.
The second largest layoff impacted 658 workers at Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC in Rutherford County with 615 workers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center permanently laid off. WARN notices are reports a company is required to file with the state to give workers time to find future employment.
Kofoed states that Tennessee is seeing a troubling trend, with layoffs skyrocketing since 2023.
“That is a very big and concerning number,” Kofoed said.
According to CNBC, more than 1.1 million U.S. employees were laid off this year, the highest 11-month total since 2020.
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