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Tennessee basketball vs Vanderbilt: Score prediction, scouting report

mike wilson, knoxville news sentinel
·3 min read

Tennessee basketball has its second game against Vanderbilt this season.

The No. 5 Vols (19-4, 8-2 SEC) face Vanderbilt (11-12, 4-6) at Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

Here is what to know about the matchup:

Can Tennessee gets its offense back to form?

The Vols scored 82 points in a win against Texas on Jan. 28. They scored 100 points in two games in the following week. They lost at Florida 67-54 on Feb. 1 and beat Auburn 46-43 last Saturday.

"You want to be making shots," Vols associate head coach Justin Gainey said. "But the thing is, we’re getting good looks. In the game, they feel like good looks. But when you go back on watch in on film, it proves to still be a good shot. It’s just a matter of knocking them down."

The Vols shot 27.9% against Florida, then shot 27% to beat Auburn. UT had only shot worse than 30% once this season, a 28.8% outing in a 56-53 win against Maryland on Dec. 11 in New York.

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Tennessee is heading into a wicked stretch

After Tennessee's game against Vanderbilt, it's the start of a difficult stretch. It hosts Missouri on Saturday before facing No. 3 Alabama on Feb. 15, playing at Kentucky on Feb. 18, and at Texas A&M on Feb. 21. All four opponents are in the top half of the SEC standings.

"I think we have a mature group," Gainey said. "We have a group that has been through a lot. They believe in each other."

UT is tied with Texas A&M for second place in the SEC, a game ahead of Auburn and Kentucky. Alabama holds a two-game edge with a 10-0 mark in conference play.

Tennessee has dominated Vanderbilt of late

Tennessee has won 13 of the past 14 games against Vanderbilt and has won 11 straight, matching UT's longest winning streak in the history of the series. Coach Rick Barnes has a 13-3 mark with the Vols against the Commodores.

Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse is 0-7 against the Vols.

"Coach Stackhouse, he is one of the best in the country when you talk about X's and O's and the depth of their playbook," Gainey said.

How Tennessee beat Vanderbilt in the first meeting

The Vols topped Vanderbilt 77-68 on Jan. 10 at Thompson-Boling Arena after a halftime deficit. Vanderbilt scored 39 first-half points on the Vols, the most they've allowed in a game this season.

Julian Phillips had 15 points, while Santiago Vescovi had 15 after first-half foul trouble. Vanderbilt's Liam Robbins had 18 points and seven rebounds.

Score prediction

Tennessee 65, Vanderbilt 59: The Vols get a little bit of offensive juice back in the mix to get their 20th win of the season.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball vs Vanderbilt: Score prediction, scouting report