The Vanderbilt Commodores (7-12, 2-5 SEC) will try to snap their six-game road losing streak in a matchup against the No. 21 Tennessee Volunteers (13-5, 4-3 SEC) at Thompson-Boling Arena. The game starts at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, and will air on ESPNU.
Tennessee is a 12-point favorite on the opening line, while the game’s Over/Under (O/U) opened at 143.5 points.
Vanderbilt Commodores at Tennessee Volunteers Free Prediction
In the Commodores’ last game, they topped the LSU Tigers, 77-71. Getting to the charity stripe was one of Vanderbilt’s biggest advantages. They had 30 free throw attempts, nine more than LSU. Vanderbilt rallied around Riley LaChance, who led the team in scoring with 26 points on 8-for-14 shooting.
The Volunteers beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in their last contest, 70-63. Tennessee’s free throw rate was their biggest strength over South Carolina. The Volunteers had a rate of 0.475 (above their season average of 0.288), while the Gamecocks posted a mark of 0.347. Lamonte Turner was the game’s high scorer with 25 points on 6-for-9 shooting.
The physical Tennessee offense might be getting to the charity stripe a lot in this showdown. The Volunteers rank 25th in the NCAA with a free throw attempt (FTA) rate of 0.295, while Vanderbilt ranks 304th in FTA rate allowed (0.286).
Vanderbilt heads into the game with records of 7-12 straight up (SU) and 2-14 against the spread (ATS). Games including the Commodores have typically gone under the total (56.3 percent).
Meanwhile, Tennessee is 13-5 SU and 10-6 ATS. Much like Vanderbilt, just over half of Volunteers games have finished under the projected point total.
Admiral Schofield has averaged 15.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals over the last five games for Tennessee.
This will be the second game of the season between these two teams. Grant Williams scored a game-high 37 points in the first game, in which the Volunteers defeated the Commodores 92-84, covering as 1.5-point favorites. He also put up seven rebounds. The game finished with a total of 176 points, which was 35 points above the projected point total of 141 points. The Volunteers knocked down 25 of their 28 free throws (89.3 percent) and had a better offensive rebounding percentage (32.0 vs. 29.0).
Vanderbilt Commodores vs. Tennessee Volunteers Betting Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Tennessee, ATS Winner – Vanderbilt, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes:
On the road, Vanderbilt is 1-6 ATS with 5 unders and 2 overs.
Tennessee is 3-4 ATS at home with 4 unders and 2 overs.
Tennessee ranks 33rd in assists per game (16.6) while Vanderbilt ranks 205th (12.4).
The Commodores rank 49th in three pointers attempted per game (25.4) while the Volunteers rank 184th (20.4).
Tennessee ranks 22nd in blocks per game (5.3) while Vanderbilt ranks 126th in blocks allowed per game (4.0).
The Commodores rank 10th in steals allowed per game (4.6) while the Volunteers rank 79th (5.9).
Bettings Trends:
In their last five games, Vanderbilt is 1-4 ATS with 3 overs and 2 unders.
Tennessee is 4-1 ATS with 4 unders and 1 over over their last five games.
The Commodores’ average margin of defeat in their last five games has been 7.6, up from 0.4 for the season.
During their last five games, the Volunteers have scored an average of 73.6 points per game (4.1 below their season average) and allowed an average of 66.6 points per game (2.6 below their season average).
