NCAA Men’s Basketball Previews – No.19 Commodores vs. No.6 Cardinals
Date/Time: Friday, Dec 2 9 p.m. (ET)
Venue: KFC Yum Center, Louisville, KT.
Broadcast: ESPN
Commodores at Cardinals lines by BetOnline.com
Point spread: Cardinals
Over/Under: OFF
The Vanderbilt Commodores will look to knock the Louisville Cardinals from the ranks of the unbeaten this Friday night when the two teams clash at the KFC Yum Center in this SEC/Big East tilt. This game is set to tip-off at 9 p.m. and it will be broadcast on ESPN.
Vanderbilt is coming off a tough 82-70 overtime loss to No.11 Xavier this past Monday as a four-point home favorite that dropped its record to 5-2 straight-up and 2-3 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of the five games with lines.
John Jenkins has been a force for the Commodores with 20.2 point scoring average while logging 34 minutes a game. Lance Goulbourne and Jeffery Taylor have done a good job under the boards with a combined 13.7 rebounds a game. As a whole, Vandy is averaging 75.9 points a game and shooting 45.7 percent from the field. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Louisville has worked its way up the rankings with a solid 6-0 start SU including a 69-53 win over Butler as a four-point road favorite on Nov.19. The Cardinals have covered the spread in four of their first five games with a posted line and the total has stayed ‘under’ in four of the five games.
Kyle Kuric is averaging 12 points a game and Chris Smith is adding another 10.5, but the real strength of this season’s Cardinals is a smothering defense that is holding its opponents to an average of just 48.3 points a game and 33.2 percent from the field.
Louisville should have its hands full with Jenkins in this one, but stick with the Cardinals’ defense to keep the clamps on him just enough to grind out the win at home.
The Pick: Louisville 66 vs. Vanderbilt 63
