No. 2 Auburn can take another step toward the SEC regular-season title on Wednesday night by taking care of business against a mediocre Vanderbilt team. The Tigers are heavy home favorites on the NCAAB odds.

How to Bet Vanderbilt at Auburn NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

• When: Wednesday, 9 PM ET
• Where: Auburn Arena
• TV: SEC Network
• Stream: ESPN app
• Radio: Tunein.com
• Opening NCAAB Lines: Auburn -15 (total 139)

Last Meeting

This is the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams. Last year, Auburn won the lone matchup 73-67. Sharife Cooper and Jamal Johnson scored 19 points apiece. Devan Cambridge’s 3-pointer with 13:08 to play gave Auburn a 40-38 lead it never surrendered. Vanderbilt led 25-23 at halftime. Dylan Disu scored 18 points for Vanderbilt and collared 10 rebounds, Jordan Wright scored 14 and Scotty Pippen Jr. 12 before fouling out with five minutes left.

The Commodores are 89-55 all-time against Auburn but have lost the past four.

Why Bet on Vanderbilt?

Vandy (13-11) comes off a 73-64 loss at No. 19 Tennessee on Saturday. The Volunteers led by as many as 16 points early in the second half. The Commodores cut the difference to a point with 11:34 to play. From there, Tennessee’s defense held Vanderbilt scoreless for more than four minutes to get some breathing room. Tennessee had a 15-4 advantage in offensive rebounds which translated into a 17-3 edge in second-chance points.

Scotty Pippen Jr., had 23 points and six assists to lead the Commodores while Myles Stute finished with 17. Rodney Chatman chipped in 11. Pippen Jr. (1,295) passed Will Perdue (1,281) for 28th on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list. Barry Booker (1,310) is 27th. Vanderbilt is now 2-9 this season when trailing at halftime and 12-4 when shooting at least 40 percent from the field.

The Commodores are battling with Ole Miss, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama for places among the top 10 in the 14-team SEC standings, which would mean they would avoid playing on the first night of the league tournament.

Vanderbilt’s five league wins is its most since winning six during the 2018-19 season. A victory Wednesday would give the Commodores five road wins for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Vandy ranks 26th nationally in free throw attempts (516) and 28th in 3-point field goal defense (29.7).

Vanderbilt is 17-70 against opponents ranked in the top five with the last victory coming March 11, 2012 against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament championship.

“This is a great opportunity for us,” Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “We feel like we’ve gone into some places no other team has won in the SEC – went down to Arkansas and got it done (Jan. 4). Nobody has beat them since down there. We feel like our defense travels. If we’re able to take care of the ball and rebound the basketball – those are things that gets us in trouble in our losses.”

Why Bet on Auburn?

Auburn (23-2) had no trouble with Texas A&M on Saturday, 75-58. Tigers star Walker Kessler recorded his second triple-double in six weeks, and just the third in program history. Kessler’s final tally: 12 blocked shots, 12 points and 11 rebounds Saturday. Kessler became only the fifth player in SEC history to record multiple triple-doubles (2) next to Shaquille O’Neal (6) of LSU, Nick Calathes (2) of Florida, Roy Rogers (2) of Alabama and Jarvis Varnado (2) of Mississippi State. He’s the only player in the country with two this season. His last nine games: 15.7 pts, 10.6 rebs, 5.8 blks (.690, 60-of-87 FGs).

Kessler’s 12 blocks were a career high and set the tone early for one of Auburn’s best defensive efforts of the season. Texas A&M didn’t reach double digits in points until 5:14 left in the first half and shot just 27.1 percent (19-70) from the field for the game.

“He’s one of the most dominant players in all of college basketball,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “How would you have ever thought that you could say that a year ago?”

Auburn point guard Zep Jasper returned to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a non-COVID-19 illness. He has committed just 17 turnovers in 531 minutes, which is one turnover every 31.2 minutes.

Auburn is a perfect 13-0 on its home court this season and have won 15 in a row at Auburn Arena dating back to last season. Th e 15-game home win streak is tied for fi ft h longest in the country and second longest in the SEC. Auburn’s 11-1 SEC start is the second-best in school history behind the 12-0 start (12-2 finish) by the 1958-59 team.

Auburn leads the country in blocked shots per game (8.4) and total blocks (211). Th e Tigers’ 211 total blocks are a school single-season record, which was broken on Feb. 8 at Arkansas after just 24 games. With a 10-player rotation, the Auburn bench has outscored its opponents’ bench, 675-428.

Expert Prediction

• Auburn 86, Oregon State 70

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