Vanderbilt vs. Florida Pac-12 Tournament Preview
Where: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN
When: Friday, March 10, 2017, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Florida Gators – view all NCAA basketball lines
TV Broadcast: SEC Network, Watch ESPN
College Basketball News and Previews
Betting on the Vanderbilt Commodores (18-14, 10-8 SEC)
What better way to strike fear into the hearts of the Gators this Friday than with a colossal blowout of Texas A&M? The Vanderbilt Commodores held the Aggies to a season-low in points scored on Thursday as they went on to win their first SEC tournament contest since 2013 by a score of 66-41.
A banner night for sophomore guard Joe Toye proved to be enough of an offensive performance for Vanderbilt to come away with a victory in an otherwise low-scoring affair. Toye tallied career-highs of 18 points and five three’s against the Aggies, with 17 of his 18 points coming in the second half of the game. Furthermore, the Commodores limited TAMU to just 17 made field goals the entire contest, which was just six baskets more than the total number of three-pointers they made.
But obviously, Vandy won Thursday’s contest behind spectacular defense. This Friday, the Dores will get a chance to once again somewhat shut down Florida, whom they’ve beaten in their two regular-season meetings together – both by slim two-point margins. And don’t think for a second that those squeakers were won by sheer luck, because they’ve actually gotten the better of the Gators in four of their last five head-to-head encounters (SU/ATS).
Betting on the Florida Gators (24-7, 14-4 SEC)
SEC Coach of the Year Mike White should’ve had enough time to plan for Friday’s inevitable rematch against Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals, as his second-seeded Florida Gators had the pleasure of a two-game bye in the tournament with their fantastic results from the regular season.
We shouldn’t expect these two rivals to light up the Bridgestone Arena, though, as No. 17 Florida’s bread and butter happens to be excellent defense just the same. During the regular season, they’ve held their opposition to just 40.2-percent shooting from the field and 30.2-percent from the three-point line. In addition, they capped off their regular season with 10 wins in their last 12 games (8-4 ATS), with nine of their opponents during than span having been held to less than 70 points scored.
What’s got to be concerning, however, is Florida’s lack of a sound offense and a go-to player in the clutch at that. Right now, only sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen (18.8 points in his last four starts) seems to be the team’s most dependable option. If upperclassmen Canyon Barry and Devin Robinson don’t see spikes in their respective scoring outputs, Florida could very well be stunned by a tenacious Vanderbilt team for the third time this season.
Writer’s Prediction
The third showdown works like a charm for Vanderbilt as they narrowly beat the Gators once more, 69-64.
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