When
Tuesday, February 11
6:00pm CST
Where
Memorial Gymnasium
That was the most Vandy fans Saturday at Memorial Gym since 2013 NIT! KEEP IT UP!!
TV/Streaming
SECN/ESPN App
Radio
102.5 FM Locally
SiriusXM 382 for Vandy Broadcast
Rankings
AP: Auburn remained #1 while Vanderbilt is still unranked.
Kenpom: Vanderbilt 48, Auburn 1
NET: Vanderbilt 46, Auburn 1
Bracketmatrix: Vanderbilt 10 seed, Auburn 1 seed
Spread
Auburn -9.5
Vanderbilt ML +420
Over/Under 160.5
How We Got Here
After dropping their first SEC game of the year, the Auburn Tigers come into Nashville hungry for a bounce back to stay #1 in the polls and a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In my mind, no questions asked, this is the best basketball team in the country this year. There is no team with the wins that the Tigers have racked up this year; 12 quad-one wins, which is 4 more than the next closest team in the country. Leading Auburn is Johni Broome who is one of the front runners for the Naismith Award. Broome is averaging 18 points and 11 rebounds per game despite only averaging 28 minutes a game. But Broome is far from the only dangerous player for the Tigers, with six players averaging double figures a game. Remember Auburn won a few games without him this season. This is the best team to play at Memorial this year so we will see what is in store.
Vanderbilt was staring at a ‘must-win’ game against Texas on Saturday if they wanted to keep the NCAA Tournament dreams alive, and boy did they find a win to pull through and get the W! An 86-78 win for the Commodores was sparked by big second halves by AJ Hoggard and Jason Edwards, both were held to low point totals in the first half, Hoggard scoreless, but ended up combining for 31 of Vandy’s points. The win gave the ‘Dores their 17th win of the season and 5th of conference play. Many believe 2-3 more wins and the ‘Dores “are dancing” in Mark Byington’s first season.
What to Expect
No beating around the bush here, this is not a good matchup for the ‘Dores. Auburn is a world-class basketball team and cannot be taken even an ounce of ‘lightly’. Scoring comes from all areas for this team and not just the paint. Broome and the Tigers are 9th in the country in points and 27th in FG percentage. Where Auburn can really make Vanderbilt have a long night is their resilient control of the ball, boasting the country's third-best assist-to-turnover rate. If you haven’t watched much Auburn this year, there is one player that is back that is a total ‘thorn in the side’-Chad Baker-Mazara. He is proficient at scoring and even better at talking trash. (Fun fact . . .he is actually older than Luka Doncic). Expect Auburn to play with a ton of physicality and heart, coming off their second loss of the season.
Vanderbilt will enter Tuesday’s game playing the #1 team in the country for the second time this season, and if you have followed Vandy basketball long enough you know weird things are bound to happen. For Memorial Magic to show its true magic once again, the Commodores will have to play their best game of the season. We have seen the emergence of Jaylen Carey in the last few weeks, finally figuring out his strength and realizing he can out-body defenders even if they are bigger than he is. Carey and Devin McGlockton will have to be superstars and keep Vanderbilt in this game. Shots are also going to have to fall early and often. We simply cannot get behind early and let Auburn play with the lead. If Vandy can get a complete game out of most of their roster, I do think we have a chance to see a close game late, and you never know inside of Memorial Gymnasium what might happen.
Chef Miller's Prediction
89-75 Auburn
