Tennessee fell from No. 1 in the polls thanks to a blowout loss at Kentucky on Saturday. UT looks to avoid its first two-game skid of the year as a big college basketball odds favorite on Tuesday night against in-state rival Vanderbilt. Will they still be top of the food chain once March Madness comes around?
How to Bet Vanderbilt vs Tennessee NCAAB Odds & Game Info
- When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Thompson-Boling Arena
- TV: ESPN
- NCAAB Odds: Tennessee Volunteers -19 (Total 148.5)
Season Series
Vols won the first meeting 88-83 in overtime, failing to cover the 9-point spread on Jan. 23 in Nashville. Grant Williams scored a career-high 43 and made all 23 free throws. By going 23 of 23 at the line, Williams turned in the freest throws without a miss in the NCAA since Arlen Clark was 24 of 24 for Oklahoma State on March 7, 1959.
Williams outshot Vanderbilt at the line all by himself, and his three-point play with 31.6 seconds left in overtime put Tennessee ahead to stay. Tennessee trailed 76-70 before Williams rallied Tennessee in the final 1:22 of regulation. Aaron Nesmith had a career-high 24 points for Vandy, while Seban Lee added 21, Matt Ryan 12 and Simisola Shittu 10.
Why Bet on Vanderbilt?
Vandy fell to 0-12 in the SEC with Saturday’s 64-53 loss at home to Auburn. Not only did Auburn turn Vanderbilt over 19 times, 10 of those were steals as the Tigers had a 17-0 scoring edge off turnovers. Auburn hadn’t won at Vandy since February 2000. The Tigers survived the first half with their worst shooting performance in nearly a year to snap a nine-game skid to Vanderbilt.
The Commodores have lost 13 straight, putting them just a loss off the longest losing streak in school history set over the span of the 1934-35 and 1935-36 season. Vanderbilt coach Bryce Drew called the skid uncharted waters for both himself, his assistants and his players. Aaron Nesmith led Vanderbilt with 24 points and 14 rebounds, his second career double-double. Yanni Wetzell had 10.
Nesmith was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week after averaging 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in games against Florida and Auburn last week. The honor is the third by a Vanderbilt freshman after Darius Garland and Simisola Shittu captured the honor earlier this season. So far this season in conference play, Nesmith has scored 20 or more points on four different occasions while also pacing the Commodores in scoring in SEC competition with 15.3 points per game.
The Commodores are the 301st-most experienced team in the country according to KenPom.com. Vanderbilt’s leading top three leading scorers are two freshmen, Nesmith and Shittu, and sophomore Saben Lee. Vanderbilt’s average height is 78.5 inches (6 feet, 5 inches) and ranks 14th nationally according to KenPom.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 72.08
- Field Goal Percentage: 43.34
- Three-Point Percentage: 32.76
- Free Throw Percentage: 68.62
- Total Rebounds: 36.24
Defense
- Total Score: 72.84
- Field Goal Percentage: 42.48
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.02
- Free Throw Percentage: 72.50
- Total Rebounds: 35.08
Why Bet on Tennessee?
UT’s school-record 19-game winning streak was snapped Saturday in an 86-69 loss at then-No. 5 Kentucky, which knocked Tennessee from the top spot in the polls to No. 5. The Wildcats used a 25-7 surge over a little more than seven minutes for a 62-38 lead, providing a cushion that withstood the Volunteers’ 13-0 spurt soon after that cut the advantage in half. Kentucky maintained a double-digit lead to win the highly anticipated matchup of top-five schools. Kentucky beat Tennessee 39-26 on the glass.</p.
Jordan Bone was the leading scorer for UT, finishing with 19 points and six assists. Admiral Schofield added 17 points and six rebounds. Grant Williams was Tennessee’s other double-digit scorer with 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Bone is directly responsible for 33.1 percent of Tennessee’s total scoring this season when you factor in his points scored and the points resulting from his assists. In SEC games, Tennessee averages a league-best 11.3 turnovers per game.
It was the first matchup of two top-five SEC teams since March 8, 2003, when third-ranked Florida fell to second-ranked Kentucky, 69-67, in Gainesville. It also was the first time an SEC team ranked in the top five has hosted the top-ranked team since Feb. 2, 1966, when No. 3 Vanderbilt hosted No. 1 Kentucky.
Tennessee’s 23-game home win streak is the second-longest active streak in Division I. Houston has won 32 straight at home.
Team Stats
Offense- Total Score: 84.76
- Field Goal Percentage: 51.03
- Three-Point Percentage: 36.32
- Free Throw Percentage: 76.71
- Total Rebounds: 37.64
Defense
- Total Score: 68.28
- Field Goal Percentage: 39.65
- Three-Point Percentage: 33.39
- Free Throw Percentage: 63.58
- Total Rebounds: 33.92
Game Trends
- Under is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings in Tennessee
- Underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings
- Road team is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings
- Vanderbilt is 8-14-1 ATS in its last 23 games on the road
- Vanderbilt is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Vanderbilt’s last 7 games on the road
- Tennessee is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against Vanderbilt
- Tennessee is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tennessee’s last 5 games at home
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction for Vanderbilt vs Tennessee
Give the points as the Vols roll.
