Kentucky vs Vanderbilt 3/11/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Vanderbilt Commodores (17-15) vs. Kentucky Wildcats (25-6)
March 11, 2022 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Kentucky Wildcats -11.5 ; Over/Under: 142.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Vanderbilt Commodores and the Kentucky Wildcats meet Friday in SEC Tournament college basketball action from Amalie Arena. Vanderbilt is 17-15 this year. The Commodores beat Alabama in their tournament matchup Thursday. As for Kentucky, they’re sitting at 25-6 overall and coming off a win over Florida. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Vanderbilt started out the year at 9-4 but they’ve been a pretty sketchy team since then. The Commodores were on a three-game losing streak heading into March. In the last trio it’s been all wins though; those came versus Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama.
In the Thursday tournament matchup versus Alabama, Vanderbilt faced a 10-point deficit at the break. The Commodores hit a 54-38 run in the second half for the comeback win 82-76. Scotty Pippen, Jr. scored 26 points, while Jordan Wright doubled with 13 points and 12 boards.
Over on the Kentucky side, they’ve stayed extremely consistent this year; the Wildcats haven’t yet lost consecutive games. Since their last loss to Arkansas on February 26, Kentucky has notched wins over Ole Miss and Florida in their latest pair.
Last weekend versus Florida, the Wildcats were up by 12 points at the break. Kentucky was outscored 33-37 in the second but hung on for the 71-63 win. Leading scorer Oscar Tshiebwe put up 27 points with 15 rebounds and three steals.
PICK: I’m probably going to try Kentucky here. The Wildcats have done well over this 4-1 stretch, posting 71 or more points in each game with a two-point loss to Arkansas as the only blemish. The Wildcats have scored very well over the course of the season, and they’ve got 71 or more points in 11 of their last 13 games.
As for Vanderbilt, they shot a tepid 39.6 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 34-52 versus Alabama but still came up with a great win Thursday. The Commodores have lost both matchups versus Kentucky this year 78-66 and 77-70, though. I think Vanderbilt will put up a good fight here but I don’t think they’ll cover.
