Tennessee vs. Villanova: College basketball game preview, TV schedule

The Tennessee Volunteers upset No. 18 Purdue, but can they do the same against the No. 5 Villanova Wildcats on Thanksgiving?

TV Schedule: Thursday, Nov. 23, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Arena: Imperial Arena, Nassau, Bahamas

Why is everyone overlooking the Tennessee Volunteers?

Any team that loses one key piece (Robert Hubbs) off of a team that beat a Kentucky Wildcats squad that won both the SEC regular season title and SEC Tournament, as well as playing all four Final Four teams close, is going to be good the next season.

I personally do not understand how any rational member of the media picked Tennessee to finish at No. 13 in the SEC, and Purdue found that out the hard way.

Unfortunately for Vols’ fans including myself, I do not think Villanova will suffer the same fate.

Villanova is one of the best teams in the country and should dispatch this Tennessee squad because the Wildcats rarely overlook their opponents. If this was a game against a team like North Carolina or West Virginia, I might predict an upset based on the fact that they would overlook Rick Barnes and this underrated team.

However, these are two elite defensive teams that are fantastic when it comes to forcing turnovers, and I think that Jay Wright and the Wildcats are better when it comes to doing just that. Tennessee had some shaky moments down the stretch against Purdue that went their way that will not go their way in this one.

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Villanova wins in a low-scoring, tight game, but we could be looking at a Sweet 16 matchup down the road.

Prediction: Villanova 66, Tennessee 60