NCAAB SEC Showdown: Tennessee Volunteers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores

The 14th ranked Tennessee Volunteers will take on the 23rd ranked Vanderbilt Commodores Wednesday night in what may be a preview of the SEC Championship game. Vandy is riding a 9 game winning streak into this one after back to back losses to Illinois and W. Kentucky back in the middle of December. The Vols however, are coming off of a tough loss to a feisty Georgia squad on Saturday.

On paper this looks to be as even of a match-up as you will find. Both teams average around 79 points per game and allow close to 65. They both have identical 10-0 records at home, but Vandy has a slight edge in away games going 4-1 to Tennessee’s 2-2.

The leading scorer for both teams is a 6’7” tweener that can play both guard and forward. The Vols Scotty Hopson is having a solid year thus far averaging 13.8 points and 3.4 boards per game. Both of these stats have been increased from his freshman years performance. Wayne Chism and Tyler Smith complete Tennessee’s three-headed scoring monster as they too average almost 12 points and close to 5 rebounds per contest. This trio will be a handful for the Commodores.

Vanderbilt will counter the Vols offensive attack with their own trifecta. Along with leading scorer Jeffery Taylor (14.3 ppg), A.J. Ogilvy and Jermaine Beal contribute another 27 points and 9 rebounds per game combined. This threesome has wreaked havoc on opposing defenses all season long, and should have the same success against Vandy.

Neither of these squads will have any trouble scoring Wednesday night. The line for this match-up is currently at Tennessee -5.5 by the LVSC. I anticipate a close game that comes down to the final shot. Regardless of who wins, this should be a highly competitive game that will have a NCAA tournament-like atmosphere to it. Tune in Wednesday as the Vols and ‘Dores shoot out the lights in this SEC showdown.

Related posts:

1. Tennessee vs. Kentucky: SEC Showdown
2. Volunteers Take on Red-Hot Buckeyes in Sweet-16
3. Tennessee looks for upset against Kentucky Tuesday
4. Tennessee in need of win against Chaleston Wednesday
5. Top 2 Teams in SEC Battle for Conference Title

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