Vanderbilt at Kentucky Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

Posted by Michael Hunt on Monday,February 27, 2017 11:18, EDT in

ESPN currently lists Vanderbilt just outside the NCAA Tournament field. The Commodores likely would earn an at-large bid, however, with an upset of No. 11 Kentucky on Tuesday. UK is likely to be ranked higher than 11 th when the new polls come out Monday. The Cats will be solid favorites in NCAAB odds.

 Vanderbilt at Kentucky Odds, Free Pick & TV Info

When: Tuesday, Feb. 28, 9 PM ET
Where: Rupp Arena, Lexington
TV: ESPN
Stream: WatchESPN
Radio: Vanderbilt / Kentucky
Opening NCAAB Lines: Kentucky favored TBA

Why Bet On Vanderbilt?

The Commodores (16-13, 9-7) are on a season-high four game winning streak. Jeff Roberson buried five consecutive 3-pointers in about five minutes to spark a 77-48 win over Mississippi State Saturday. Roberson nailed five consecutive 3-pointers in about five minutes in the biggest offensive outburst of his career. Overall, he scored 17 points in Vanderbilt’s 19-5 run to start the second half.

Roberson’s scoring spree coincided with much of Vanderbilt’s defensive lockdown period. It held Mississippi State without a field goal for nearly nine minutes. Riley LaChance had 11 points for Vanderbilt. Luke Kornet added 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Commodores were 14-for- 29 (48.3%) from behind the arc. It is their 14th game this season with 10 or more and the ‘Dores are 11-3 in those games. Vanderbilt has had double-digit assists in 26 of 29 games this season after dishing out 15 against Mississippi State. The Commodores shot 27-for- 57 from the floor (47.4%). It is their 20th game this season shooting over 40%. The 48 points was the lowest points allowed by the Commodores this season. The previous was 52 by Norfolk State back in November.

Vanderbilt leads the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (38.0%), threes made (9.9) and free throw percentage (77.3%) in all games. In league games only, the Commodores are second in free throw percentage (75.5%) and first in threes made (10.1). The Commodores rank 12th nationally in free-throw percentage and are 15th in 3’s made per game.

In 16 SEC games, the Commodores have three players who are in the top 10 in three-point field goal percentage, with LaChance leading the way for Vanderbilt at 42.9%, which ranks second. Kornet is eighth in the conference at 38.5% in league games only, while Matthew Fisher-Davis is 10th at 36.6% in league games only. Fisher-Davis is second in league games only in 3’s made (2.6), LaChance and Luke Kornet ninth (2.0).

Why Bet On Kentucky?

Kentucky (24-5, 14-2) has a one-game lead in the SEC and would clinch no worse than a tie for the regular-season title with a win. The Cats won a big one vs. No. 13 Florida on Saturday, 76-66, for their sixth straight win. Freshman Malik Monk scored 30 of his 33 points in the second half, Bam Adebayo added 18 points with 15 rebounds and Kentucky rallied to take over the Southeastern Conference lead.

“I didn’t know about that until after the game,” said Monk, who made 10 of 11 free throws and five 3-pointers along with a team-high five assists. That contribution definitely came in handy as point guard De’Aaron Fox missed the game with a knee contusion. The high-scoring Monk ended up with the most points in one half by a player under coach John Calipari, who was also taken aback by the outburst.

It marked the fourth time this season Monk scored at least 30 points, making him the first Wildcat freshman to accomplish that feat, but he scored more each of the previous three times he did it. The way he did it this time, though, is what had Coach Cal so excited.

“What happened to Malik, we were on him to drive, to get fouled,” Calipari said. “Don’t drive to release and throw some crazy thing, just try to get fouled. … Florida’s obviously a highly ranked team, they’re tough physically, they had won nine in a row, they were confident. You’re not going to beat them shooting 3s or fadeaways, you got to attack.”

With Fox out with injury (left knee contusion), senior Mychal Mulder got his first collegiate start. UK is 15-0 this season when limiting the opponent to 72 or fewer points. Florida shot 36.6 percent from the field. UK is 14-0 this season when limiting the opponent to less than 43 percent. Kentucky shot 45.3 percent from the field. UK is 23-1 this season when shooting at least 42 percent. Kentucky won the rebounding for the sixth straight game – coinciding with the six-game win streak – 48-30.

UK beat Vandy 87-81 on Jan. 10. Monk scored six points in the final 32 seconds. Vanderbilt closed to 83-81 on Roberson's putback with 17.9 seconds left. But the rally fizzled from there.

 Vanderbilt at Kentucky Free Pick: Kentucky Wildcats

Take the Cats at home, although I would wait until we know if Fox is playing. Feel more confident in a cover if he does.