Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt: College Basketball Game Preview, Prediction, TV Schedule

TV Schedule: Saturday, Feb. 27, 4:00 p.m. ET, CBS

Arena: Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN

Line: Kentucky (-1.5)

 

There is home-court advantage, and then there is whatever the Vanderbilt Commodores have with Memorial Gym.

Sure, the Commodores might not boast as great of a home record as a team like the Kansas Jayhawks, but when a young team like the No. 16 Kentucky Wildcats travels to Nashville and plays in Memorial Gym, absolutely anything can happen.

The Wildcats head into this crucial SEC showdown with a road record that can be described as shaky at best. Of their losses, every single one was outside of Rupp Arena. Since their road loss to the Tennessee Volunteers, however, Kentucky has won five of their last six games with their lone loss coming to the extremely talented Texas A&M Aggies. Kentucky might have lost much of the hype nationally, but they are on the verge of peaking at the perfect time.

Vanderbilt, on the other hand, must win this game if they want to stand a real chance at earning a share of the SEC regular season title. A win against Kentucky would also guarantee a place in the 2016 NCAA tournament for the Commodores, as long as they avoid a home loss to Tennessee on March 1.

That being said, I do not see Vanderbilt winning this game. Like I mentioned earlier, Kentucky is peaking at the right time and is currently playing their best basketball of the season. Kevin Stallings and Co. continue to disappoint, and BBN gets the win on the road.

Prediction: Kentucky 74, Vanderbilt 70