Vanderbilt vs. VCU Prediction and Odds for Wednesday, November 30 (Commodores are a Steal as a Road Dog)
By Ben Heisler
The Siegel Center in Richmond, VA hosts tonight's inter-conference matchup as the VCU Rams welcome the Vanderbilt Commodores to town at 7 p.m. ET.
Vanderbilt enters with just a 3-3 record so far on the young season, but Jerry Stackhouse's team has played an awfully tough non-conference schedule in the early going, taking on two top 26 KenPom ranked teams in Memphis and Saint Mary's, as well as two potential tournament teams in Temple and Fresno State, both of which were victories on the road and on a neutral site.
Mike Rhoades' Rams squad comes off a three-point win over Kennesaw State at home, failing to cover. The Rams have handled their easier competition without much issue, but have two losses to Arizona State and Memphis thus far.
Here are the latest odds for tonight's SEC vs. A-10 showdown from Richmond.
Vanderbilt vs. VCU Odds, Spread and Total
Vanderbilt vs. VCU Prediction and Pick
I've certainly got some concerns about Vanderbilt this year, but I think they're the superior team, and based off the toughness of their schedule to this point, I'm not concerned about their ability to go to VCU and potentially cover on the road.
This game will be a fight to the finish, with both teams' defense being their keys to success. VCU's pressure defense has them ranked 31st in adjusted defensive efficiency so far this season, while Vandy comes in at 71. Both squads also guard the 3-point line extremely well, including the Commodores who rank 13th in college basketball in defending beyond the arc. Teams are shooting just 25.6% from 3-point range against Vanderbilt this year.
The Commodores, however, have a much more prolific offense than that of VCU, ranked 87th in offensive efficiency compared to the Rams at 231st. The Rams rank 13th in the country in turnover percentage on the defensive side, but Vandy has also done a nice job of protecting the ball, which somewhat neutralizes the advantage.
The biggest key for the Commodores to cover, or even pull off the slight upset is to finally start making foul shots. They've been a disaster so far, shooting less than 60% from the charity stripe. VCU isn't much better at 68.4%, but Vanderbilt wins this game if they make their foul shots.
With all their other advantages, along with the line movement towards Vandy, I'll back them as slight dogs on the road.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.