Tennessee Volunteers at Vanderbilt Commodores

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Vanderbilt Commodores(-6.5)
Game Total Line: (143)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The Tennessee Volunteers will be looking for a quality win in the SEC to help rescue their season when they take on the Vanderbilt Commodores this Tuesday night at Memorial Gym in Nashville. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Tennessee has lost four of its last five games including a 69-63 loss to Georgia as a 4 ½-point home favorite this past Saturday. The Volunteers last victory over a ranked team was a 104-84 win over then-No.22 Memphis on Jan.5 as a seven-point home favorite. They are currently 16-11 straight-up overall (12-14 against the spread) and 6-6 SU in conference play.

Junior guard Scotty Hopson and freshman forward Toby Harris have provided the bulk of the scoring for Tennessee this season. Hopson leads the team with 17.4 points while Harris is averaging 14.4 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. Junior guard Cameron Tatum is averaging 9.9 points and senior center Brian Williams has a team-high 7.7 rebounds a game to round-out the lineup.

The Volunteers are ranked 181st in the nation with a 43.9 shooting percentage from the field and hitting 32.2 percent of their shots from three-point range. They have been even worse from the foul-line; converting on just 67.3 percent of their attempts. Tennessee is averaging 71.2 points a game and remains strong under the boards with 38.6 rebounds.

Vanderbilt is riding a five-game winning streak including a 64-56 victory over Georgia last Wednesday as a three-point road underdog and a 77-60 win over Auburn as an 11-point road favorite this past Saturday. The Commodores are now 20-6 SU overall and 13-8-1 ATS. They are in second-place in the SEC-East at 8-4 SU; two games in back of Florida.

There are four players scoring in double-figures on this team led by sophomore guard John Jenkins’ 19.9 points a game. He is joined by junior forward Jeffery Taylor, who is averaging 14.5 points and 5.7 rebounds and junior center Festus Ezeli, who is averaging 12.4 points and 6.2 rebounds. A third junior, guard Brad Tinsley is the fourth leading scorer with 10.8 points a game. He also leads the team in assists with 4.4.

The Commodores are averaging 78 points and 38 rebounds a game. They are shooting 45.7 percent from the field and a solid 39.3 percent from three-point range. Vanderbilt has been especially good from the free-throw line, hitting 74.9 percent of its attempts.

Tennessee is 4-2 ATS in its last six road games but just 1-4 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of its last 10 games, but has gone ‘over’ in its last two.

Vanderbilt is 3-3 ATS in its last six games at home and 5-1 ATS in its last six games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in four of its last six games.

Head-to-head, the Volunteers have won three of the last five games SU including a 67-64 victory on Jan.15 as a 1 ½-point home favorite. The Commodores are 2-1 ATS in the last three meetings and the total has stayed ‘under’ in six of the last eight.

Against the Spread Game Pick

Vanderbilt should open as a moderate single-digit favorite this time around as it is playing much better than when these teams first met this season. Count on the Commodores to win and cover in this game as they look to pad their record with a few more wins before finishing the regular season against No.22 Kentucky and No.15 Florida.
Take Vanderbilt -6.5 at 5Dimes and get reduced juice on game day!