Kentucky Wildcats vs Vanderbilt Commodores Prediction, 1/25/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kentucky Wildcats vs Vanderbilt Commodores

Date: Saturday, January 25, 2025

Location: Memorial Gymnasium (TN) in Nashville, TN

TV: ESPN+

The Kentucky Wildcats (14-4) are traveling to Memorial Gymnasium (TN) on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Vanderbilt Commodores (15-4).

The Kentucky Wildcats played Alabama and took a loss by a final of 102-97 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 25 and Alabama totaled 21 personal fouls. They converted 13 of their 34 tries from beyond the arc. Alabama finished 85.3% at the charity stripe by knocking down 29 of their 34 tries. On top of that, Alabama snagged 36 rebounds (11 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Alabama doled out 20 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. When talking about defending, Kentucky allowed 44.8% from the floor on 30 of 67 shooting. They also doled out 20 assists for the matchup while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and earning 6 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 35 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 16 of their 20 attempts for a rate of 80.0%. Kentucky wrapped up the contest having earned a 47.9% field goal percentage (35 of 73) and converted 11 of their 27 shots from downtown.

Otega Oweh is someone who was a contributor for the matchup. He notched 21 points on 8 out of 14 shooting. He played 33 mins and also collected 6 boards. He ended up going 57.1% from the floor and also recorded 3 dimes.

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Kentucky heads into this one with a mark of 14-4 this year. They turn the ball over 10.0 times per game and as a team they commit 17.8 fouls every game. As a unit, Kentucky is pulling down 40.7 rebounds per contest and has racked up 336 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 13th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are hitting 36.7% on shots beyond the perimeter (183 of 498) and 74.2% from the free throw line. They average 89.2 pts per contest (2nd in the nation) on 48.4% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats are able to force 10.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They rank 72nd in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 216 surrendered so far this season. The Wildcats defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.8% (483 of 1,156) and they surrender 36.3 boards per game as a unit. They are conceding 28.7% from 3-point land and they are 297th in college hoops in points per game allowed (76.1).

The last time they took the court, the Vanderbilt Commodores took a loss by a score of 103-87 when they played Alabama. With respect to rebounds, Vanderbilt allowed Alabama to collect 43 in total (8 on the offensive side). They finished 36.4% from three-point range by going 8 of 22 and ended up going 23 out of 34 at the free throw line (67.6%). The Commodores allowed Alabama to convert 36 of their 64 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 56.3% for the contest. When this game wrapped up, the Commodores shot 31 out of 80 from the field which gave them a rate of 38.8%. When it comes to 3-point shots, Vanderbilt knocked down 11 of 26 tries (42.3%). They were able to bury 14 of them for a percentage of 77.8%. Alabama was called for 20 fouls in this game which took the Commodores to the free throw line for 18 shots. They gave up possession 10 times, while getting 5 steals in the matchup. The Commodores were able to corral 22 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 36 in this matchup.

Jason Edwards ended up having an impact for the Commodores in this contest. He converted 8 of 20 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 40.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He totaled 21 points in his 28 mins of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes.

Vanderbilt has a win-loss mark of 15-4 this season. The Commodores commit 16.9 fouls per game and they shoot 75.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 14.7 times per game (122nd in the country) and they are turning it over 10.2 times per contest. Vanderbilt has totaled 1,564 points for the season (82.3 per game) and they collect 35.7 boards per contest. As an offense, the Commodores are hitting on 46.5% from the floor, which is ranked 105th in college.

The Vanderbilt defense concedes 35.4% on three-point shots (134 of 378) and opponents are connecting on 70.8% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 11.7 dimes and 33.9 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 75th and 157th in college. The Commodores on defense are ranked 120th in the nation in PPG given up with 69.6. They have forced 15.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 43.7% from the field (204th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kentucky

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