Tennessee at Vanderbilt – Offense vs. Defense
BetUS NCAA Basketball Sports Betting Odds: PICK’EM
Here are some of the NCAA basketball sports betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* TENN has won five of its last eight games SU
* TENN has covered one of its last five games
* TENN has played nine of its last ten games OVER the total * TENN has won eight of its last 12 road games SU
* TENN has played four of its last five road games OVER the total
* VAN has won seven of its last nine games SU
* VAN has played 10 of its last 12 games OVER the total
* VAN has won its last six home games SU
* VAN is 2-4-1 ATS in its last seven road games
* VAN has played five of its last six home games UNDER the total
Also…
* TENN has won four of the last six meetings SU
* TENN has covered five of the last seven meetings
* Six of the last seven meetings have gone UNDER the total
* VAN has won and covered four of the last five meetings SU as the home team
* Four of the last five meetings in Nashville have gone UNDER the total
* TENN has had the rebounding edge in four of the last five meetings
The Volunteers are trying to work itself out of what has been a tough stretch for them. It started with a visit to Kansas, which resulted in a 92-85 loss. Then it was an overtime thriller at home against a struggling Gonzaga unit, in which they were outscored by ten points in the overtime period. Last Tuesday night they were hardly even in the game, giving up 54 points to Jodie Meeks and losing a 90-72 decision to Kentucky.
On Saturday they were able to hold off a surging South Carolina team, which outscored Tennessee 51-39 in the second half but came out on the short end of an 82-79 score.
What is troubling is that despite shooting a glittering 58.5% from the field, Tennessee almost blew a big lead at home. That’s what happens when you commit 22 turnovers and let the other team grab 15 offensive rebounds, so there is some work to do. This shouldn’t be so difficult for the Vols, but it is. When they are away from Knoxville, they are giving up 81 points a game, so they have to rely on out-shooting the other team most of the time, and that doesn’t leave a big margin for error as far as turnovers (15 per game) or foul shooting, where they’re hitting just 69%.
Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings knew he was going to be facing a challenge replacing three regulars from last year’s 26-8 team, including sharpshooter Shan Foster. As long as they have center A.J. Oglivy on hand, however, they are going to be able to compete, because he gives them something on both the inside and the outside. Oglivy, who averaged 17 points last season, is at 16.4 this year, and is getting to the line more than seven times a game. Jermaine Beal has been a steady point guard, maintaining an assist-turnover ratio over 2-to-1. Freshman Brad Tinsley is hitting 40% of his three-point shots.
Vandy is not as explosive as Tennessee, but they are playing better defense, allowing less than 37% shooting. With youngsters, there are going to be some bumps, as one could consider losses to Illinois-Chicago and Georgia Tech, but there have been highlights as well, with wins over Drake, VCU and U-Mass. It would not surprise me at all if they were to grab a tournament slot out of the SEC. The last home game produced a 50-40 win over Georgia, in which the Bulldogs committed 19 turnovers and went 0-2 from the line.
The ‘Dores can get the job done at home, and Tennessee is having difficulty with fundamentals. Let’s lay the points with Vanderbilt, at pick’em in the BetUS NCAA college basketball sports betting odds.
