Unless a miracle of epic proportions happen in the SEC tournament, the Vanderbilt Commodores (+200,000 to win the national title) are not going to make it to the Big Dance. Still, that’s not going to deter them from chasing for the one goal that could give them some vestige of self respect: a win in the SEC. The odds are stacked against the Commodores to get that win against the No.1 Tennessee Volunteers (+700), but we’ve seen crazier things happen this season.
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Betting Preview for the Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Tennessee Volunteers College Basketball Game on February 19, 2019
Where: Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville
When: Tuesday, February 19 2019, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Vanderbilt Commodores (+17.5) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (-17.5) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Vanderbilt Commodores (9-16 Overall / 0-12 Conference)
The Commodores are still winless in conference play. That much was ascertained over the weekend following Vandy’s 64-54 home loss to the Auburn Tigers. Arguably the worst team in the SEC, Vanderbilt’s window to get a win in the league is getting smaller and smaller, and it’s not about to get easy for the Commodores this Tuesday with a road game against a Tennessee side that’s hungry for a rebound win after a loss over the weekend. That being said, the Commodores did look considerably better in their 88-83 loss to the Vols at home on Jan. 23. Vanderbilt even forced overtime and shot better than Tennessee, making 50.0 percent of their shots from the field to just 46.6 percent by the Volunteers. Vanderbilt managed to threaten the Vols mainly because of the Commodores’ 3-point shooting, draining 10 threes on 21 attempts. Also, they made a several trips to the free throw line for easy points, going 23-of-33 from the charity stripe compared to just a 14-for-18 line from there by Tennessee.
Vanderbilt, which is tops in the SEC in free throw attempts, is 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last four games against Tennessee.
Betting on the Tennessee Volunteers (23-2 Overall / 11-1 Conference)
As mentioned earlier, Tennessee is eager for a win. That’s after the No. 1 team in the nation got wrecked in Lexington last Saturday in an 86-69 road loss to the No. 5 Kentucky Wildcats. The Vols had a clunker of a performance in that game on both ends of the floor. They shot just 40.7 percent from the floor and allowed Kentucky to make 54.7 percent of its shots. SEC leading scorer Grant Williams went just 3-for-4 from the field but still finished with 16 points, thanks in large part to his 8-for-9 shooting from the free throw line. Williams was almost unstoppable in the first meeting with Vanderbilt, as he bullied his way through the Commodores’ defense for 43 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the field and a perfect 23-for-23 from the free throw line. Knowing that there was barely anyone on Vandy’s roster who could stop him, expect Williams to dominate anew in the matchup. Williams’ sidekick, Admiral Schofield, however, will have to put up a better performance than the six-point outing he had against Vandy.
Tennessee, which is fifth in the nation with 84.7 points per game, is 7-5 ATS in SEC games this season.
Writer’s Prediction
Tennessee wins, 85-65.
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