No. 19 Vanderbilt Commodores at No. 6 Louisville Cardinals
Friday, 12/2/11, 9:00 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Louisville -9
Current Betting Line: Louisville -8.5
Opening Total: 134
Current Total: 134
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Vanderbilt is 5-2 on the season after dropping an 82-70 overtime contest to the Xavier Musketeers as four-point home favorites. The Commodores have slipped up a bit this year after opening the season as the No. 7 team in the country, which was the program’s highest ranking since 1965. It was a shocking loss due to holding Xavier to just 37.8 percent shooting from the floor, its best defensive performance of the season. The main problem was winning the battle on the glass, getting out-rebounded by a 54-33 margin. Vanderbilt is 14-5 ATS on the road the last two-plus seasons.
The Commodores will be meeting the Cardinals for the 16th time, posting a 7-8 mark in the previous meetings, including a 5-3 record when playing in Louisville. Vanderbilt is also 25-38 all-time against schools making up the Big East Conference. Four potential starters are averaging in double digits, led by junior guard John Jenkins, who comes in averaging 20.2 points per game. He leads the SEC in scoring and also paces all players in averaging 4.0 three-point makes a contest.
Louisville is set to play its fourth straight game in the KFC Yum! Center and will be hosting this Big East/SEC Challenge event. The Cardinals have been very impressive in winning all six of their games by an average of 19.4 points per game, which is surprising due to being somewhat hampered by injuries in the early going. “Last year was bad, but this year is ridiculous,” stated Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino about the situation. The program will be seeking its 15th consecutive home win and is 24-2 all-time when playing inside the building. Louisville is 3-1 ATS at home this season and the ‘under’ is 2-1 in that situation.
The Cardinals have two starters that average in double figures, with forward Kyle Kuric leading the way in scoring 12.0 points and also bringing down 4.2 boards a game. Louisville’s strength is certainly on the defensive end, limiting its opponents to 54 or fewer points in five of six games. The team has also held opponents to 60 points or less in nine of its last 11 games inside Friday night’s venue.
Bettors will likely back the Cardinals due to their 8-3 ATS mark at home, while the Commodores are 1-4 ATS following a double-digit loss in front of their home fans.
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