The Tennessee Volunteers are a well deserved favorite here in this NCAA Tournament first round matchup with the Colgate Raiders, but I think the underdog is spotted too many points to pass up on.

Colgate will enter Nationwide Arena steaming hot and high on confidence following 11 straight wins, including a 94-80 triumph over Bucknell in the Patriot League title game last Wednesday.

Tennessee is without a doubt a Final Four contender, but it will also know the road there is quite long and there's no reason to waste more energy than needed to just get past its first round opponent.

The Raiders on the other hand will have nothing to lose and will without a doubt give maximum effort throughout the whole game, opening for a backdoor cover.

8* play on Colgate Raiders.