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The Tennessee Volunteers travel to face the Vanderbilt Commodores in an SEC matchup Wednesday night. The No. 6 Volunteers are coming off of a close victory against No. 25 Auburn on Saturday after escaping the Tigers in the final seconds of the game to win 46-43. Vanderbilt is coming off of their own close win against Ole Miss on Saturday, holding off the Rebels 74-71. Tennessee enters this game with a record of 19-4 while Vanderbilt is 11-12 on the year.
midweek in the Midstate
GAMEDAY » https://t.co/XsuD0wfnGq pic.twitter.com/CvKAfLRIPB
— Tennessee Basketball (@Vol_Hoops) February 8, 2023
Bottom Line
The Commodores have not beaten Tennessee since Feb. 22, 2017 but a win could potentially put the Commodores at .500. Vanderbilt is 8-5 at home this year but has struggled in conference play with a record of 4-6 against SEC opponents. On the other hand, Tennessee has been impressive against the SEC with an 8-2 record and the team has a 4-2 record on the road.
In its last 10 games, Tennessee is averaging 70.4 points per game with a 44.5% field goal percentage while allowing 56.3 points. In Vanderbilt’s last 10 games, they’re averaging 71.9 points per game while shooting 40.0% from the field. However, the team has struggled on defense with opponents averaging 79.8 points per game over that stretch.
Key Players for Tennessee and Vanderbilt
Senior guard Santiago Vescovi leads the way for the Volunteers, recording 11.9 points per game on the year. Forward Olivier Nkamhoua has been hot as of late for Tennessee, averaging 11.2 points per game on an efficient 56.2% shooting over the last 10 games. Nkamhoua has also held it down on the glass this season, averaging a team high 5.1 rebounds per game.
Vanderbilt is led by its seven foot tall senior, Liam Robbins, who has averaged 13.3 points per game at 51.2% shooting from the floor. Robbins is also leading the Commodores on the boards, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville.
