Vanderbilt Commodores (7-17) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (18-6)
February 17, 2024 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Tennessee Volunteers -21.5; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)
The Vanderbilt Commodores and the Tennessee Volunteers meet Saturday in college basketball action from Thompson-Boling Arena. Vanderbilt is coming off a tight win over Texas A&M that improved the Commodores to 7-17 overall. As for Tennessee, they’re 18-6 after a win over Arkansas on Wednesday. Let’s get into our Vanderbilt vs Tennessee prediction. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Vanderbilt Commodores
The Commodores managed to go .500 through eight games at the start of the season, however they’ve only been able to win three more since then. Vanderbilt has managed to muster a 2-2 run through the last four though, beating Missouri and Texas A&M in that time.
Back on Tuesday versus Texas A&M, the Commodores trailed by one point going into the second half. Vanderbilt hit a 44-42 run in the second half though and eventually won 74-73. Top scorer Ven-Allen Lubin put up 25 points with five rebounds in 29 minutes of work in the victory.
Tennessee Volunteers
Over on the Volunteers’ side, they only lost five of their first 20 games. Those defeats came versus Purdue, Kansas, North Carolina, Mississippi State and South Carolina. Tennessee is 3-1 in their last four with a lone loss to Texas A&M alongside wins over Kentucky, LSU and Arkansas.
In their latest matchup versus Arkansas on Wednesday, the Volunteers were up by a modest six points in the locker room. Tennessee woke up in the second half on a 46-23 run however and took the win 92-63. Jonas Aidoo was the leading scorer on 23 points with 12 rebounds for a double-double.
ANDREW’S FREE VANDERBILT VS TENNESSEE PREDICTION
I’ll stick with Tennessee. The line’s a little too thick to mess with, though. The Volunteers made short work of Arkansas in their last game despite a bit of a slow start. Tennessee shot 56.9 percent from the field with 36 rebounds in that one, but did cough up 12 turnovers. It was a good bounce-back after a rough road loss versus Texas A&M.
Back on January 27 when these teams last saw each other, Tennessee pulled off a 75-62 road victory. The Vols didn’t shoot very well from the line in that one (14-of-22) but otherwise managed a well-rounded win thanks to 49.1 percent shooting and 38 rebounds. Tennessee should be plenty comfortable back at home after a couple of away games, and so long as they’re not overlooking this one in favor of Auburn on Wednesday, I think the Volunteers will be fine.
