Northern Kentucky Norse vs Tennessee Volunteers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 11/08/25

The Tennessee Volunteers were laying nearly 30 points at home on the opening night of the college basketball season, but they didn’t win by margin. In fact, the Vols were plagued by turnovers in their 76-61 win over Mercer, though they dominated the glass – out-rebounding the Bears 54-32. That will likely be the case again this weekend against Darrin Horn’s patented zone defense at Northern Kentucky, but hopefully this time without the ample turnovers. The recipe is simple when playing the Norse, control the glass, don’t turn the ball over, and knock down your perimeter shots. If you do those three things extremely well, you should have success against NKU. 

I question just how deep this version of Tennessee is from a perimeter shooting perspective, but the additions of senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie along with freshmen Troy Hendersron and Nate Ament look good on paper. Gillespie is a seasoned veteran at this point, having connected on about 40% of his perimeter attempts over the last couple of years (more than 315 combined attempts). What I don’t question is Tennessee’s domination of the boards in this matchup, nor do I question the overall talent advantage the Vols seem to have here. 

NKU will be feisty in conference play once everyone adapts to their roles in Horn’s system, but it’s going to take some time – especially having lost program cornerstones Sam Vinson and Trey Robinson in the offseason. To replace them, Horn brought in a Cal State Fullerton transfer, a couple of Division 2 transfers, an NAIA transfer, and a smorgasbord of freshmen. I just don’t see the upside for this group in Rocky Top on Saturday, even if this game is played at a slower-than-average pace.  

Northern Kentucky vs Tennessee prediction: Tennessee Volunteers -25.5 (-108) at the time of publishing. Playable to -28. 

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