Halftime Report
Vanderbilt is giving their home crowd exactly what they were hoping for. They have jumped out to a quick 41-35 lead against Tennessee.
Vanderbilt came into the matchup with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Tennessee Volunteers @ Vanderbilt Commodores
Current Records: Tennessee 16-1, Vanderbilt 14-3
How To Watch
What to Know
Tennessee is 9-1 against Vanderbilt since January of 2020, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Saturday. Both will face off in an SEC battle at 3:30 p.m. ET at Memorial Gym. Despite being away, the Volunteers are looking at a 6.5-point advantage in the spread.
If Tennessee beats Vanderbilt with 74 points on Saturday, it’s going to be the squad’s new lucky number: they’ve won their past two games with that exact score. Tennessee enjoyed a cozy 74-56 victory over Georgia on Wednesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Volunteers.
Tennessee’s win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Zakai Zeigler, who posted 16 points along with seven assists and six steals. What’s more, Zeigler also racked up four threes, the most he’s had since back in November of 2024. Jordan Gainey was another key player, scoring 19 points along with seven rebounds.
Tennessee smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they’ve now pulled down at least ten offensive rebounds in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, Vanderbilt posted their closest victory since November 21, 2024 on Wednesday. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 66-63 win over S. Carolina.
Vanderbilt can attribute much of their success to Devin McGlockton, who went 5 for 7 en route to 11 points plus seven rebounds, and A.J. Hoggard, who earned 14 points in addition to three steals. Hoggard had some trouble finding his footing against Missouri on Saturday, so this was a nice turnaround.
Tennessee pushed their record up to 16-1 with the victory, which was their tenth straight at home. As for Vanderbilt, their win bumped their record up to 14-3.
Some high-performance offense is likely on the agenda as the two teams are some of the highest scoring teams in the league. Tennessee hasn’t had any problem running up the score this season, having averaged 76.9 points per game. However, it’s not like Vanderbilt struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging 82.4. With both teams so easily able to put up points, the only question left is who can run the score up higher.
Everything came up roses for Tennessee against Vanderbilt when the teams last played back in February of 2024, as the team secured an 88-53 victory. In that contest, Tennessee amassed a halftime lead of 51-20, an impressive feat they’ll look to repeat on Saturday.
Odds
Tennessee is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Vanderbilt, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Volunteers as a 7.5-point favorite.
The over/under is 141.5 points.
See college basketball picks for every single game, including this one, from SportsLine’s advanced computer model. Get picks now.
Series History
Tennessee has won 9 out of their last 10 games against Vanderbilt.
- Feb 17, 2024 – Tennessee 88 vs. Vanderbilt 53
- Jan 27, 2024 – Tennessee 75 vs. Vanderbilt 62
- Feb 08, 2023 – Vanderbilt 66 vs. Tennessee 65
- Jan 10, 2023 – Tennessee 77 vs. Vanderbilt 68
- Feb 12, 2022 – Tennessee 73 vs. Vanderbilt 64
- Jan 18, 2022 – Tennessee 68 vs. Vanderbilt 60
- Feb 24, 2021 – Tennessee 70 vs. Vanderbilt 58
- Jan 16, 2021 – Tennessee 81 vs. Vanderbilt 61
- Feb 18, 2020 – Tennessee 65 vs. Vanderbilt 61
- Jan 18, 2020 – Tennessee 66 vs. Vanderbilt 45
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