A spot in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament will be on the line when the Tennessee Volunteers and Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns square off on Thursday at the Amway Center in Orlando. The fourth-seeded Volunteers (23-10) are coming off a loss to Missouri in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Meanwhile the No. 13 seed Ragin' Cajuns (26-7) reached the NCAA Tournament by winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET. The Volunteers are favored by 11 points in the latest Tennessee vs. Louisiana odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 135.5.

Before making any Louisiana vs. Tennessee picks or NCAA Tournament predictions, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters the 2023 NCAA Tournament 79-53 on all-top rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,300 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.

The model knows that Tennessee plays suffocating defense. The Volunteers lead the nation in 3-point defense (26.2%) and rank second in field-goal percentage defense (36.9). They also rank third in scoring defense, allowing 58.0 points per game, and just five teams have reached the 70-point mark against Tennessee.

But the model also has taken into account that Louisiana is an excellent rebounding team. The Ragin' Cajuns lead the Sun Belt Conference and rank 14th in the country in rebound margin (6.4 rebounds per game). Earlier this season, they outrebounded Loyola by 30.

For Thursday, the model has set its sights on the NCAA Tournament and Tennessee vs. Louisiana. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in almost 70% of simulations. You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Tennessee vs. Louisiana? And which side of the spread covers almost 70% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Louisiana vs. Tennessee spread you should be all over Thursday, all from the model on a roll on college basketball picks!