After a win over 12-seed Auburn on Thursday afternoon, Tennessee Basketball will face off against Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament on Friday afternoon. The game between the 5-seed Vols and 4-seed Commodores will take place at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET from Bridgestone Arena.
The rivalry matchup on Friday will essentially serve as the rubber match for the two in-state programs. Tennessee won the first matchup from Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, but Vanderbilt got revenge over Tennessee in the regular-season finale from the Food City Center in Knoxville. With it being unlikely that the two teams meet up in March Madness, this game could prove to be the deciding contest between the two rivals this season.
Tennessee is a slight point underdog heading into Friday’s SEC Tournament game. The over/under for the game currently lands at points.
Here’s a look at the combined betting odds for the tournament game:
More From RTI: Inside Tennessee Basketball’s 20-0 Run In Come From Behind Win Over Auburn
This will be the third time since Feb. 21 that the Vols and Commodores have squared off. It’s also the third time that Tennessee has seen Vanderbilt in its last seven games, which is even less for the Commodores because they didn’t play on Thursday in the SEC Tournament. For Vanderbilt, this will be back-to-back games against the Vols.
Tennessee won the first game by a score of 69-65 in Nashville. Ja’Kobi Gillespie had a team-high 17 points, while Nate Ament scored 13 points including a massive turnaround jumper in the game’s final minutes to keep Tennessee on top. Ament nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
The second game featured a key difference from the first one, as Tennessee did not have Ament due to injury. Vanderbilt got off to a 15-2 lead out of the gates on Tennessee’s Senior Day, and the Vols never quite got back into things. Tennessee did close the gap in the second half, but Vanderbilt still finished things off with an 86-82 win in Knoxville.
Ament returned to the court against Auburn on Thursday after missing two games and put up 27 points against the Tigers. He looked cool and crisp and his return, and was a major factor in Tennessee’s 20-point run that helped the Vols climb from behind and win. He’ll be a key figure in Tennessee’s quest for a spot in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Basketball coverage at the SEC Tournament this weekend in Nashville.
More to follow: College Basketball Betting Sites
