Rivalry Week tipped Monday with key games in the Big 12 and Big East. Tuesday night finds three crucial matchups, including an SEC battle in Nashville between Vandy and the Vols.
For the most part, this made-for-cable sports broadcasting concept works well putting on a variety of top line games to watch and wager on. The situations are presumed to work and sometimes the schedule and prior events bring added importance to these matchups.
It’s a battle of Tennessee when Vandy hosts the Volunteers in Nashville and the Big Ten has four of its top five teams in action in extremely important conference clashes. It promises to be quite a Tuesday for Rivalry Week.
Volunteer State scuffle
Memorial Gym, Nashville - 7 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Vanderbilt and Tennessee are positioned one game behind Kentucky in the SEC East and the winner will be no worse off at the completion of this conflict. Vanderbilt (17-5, 10-9 ATS) blew a golden opportunity Saturday to stay tied with the Wildcats falling at last place Georgia 72-58 as 4 ½-point favorites.
The Commodores shot 32.8 percent from the field (6-of-23 from three-point range) and did a real poor job defensively as the Bulldogs shot 53.2 percent and had nearly as many assists as baskets. Vandy will have to be much more efficient at home since they are 5-13-1 ATS off a SU loss.
Tennessee (18-4, 9-10 ATS) continues to confound, winners of three in a row after suffering a pair of SEC losses, one of which was to Vanderbilt. Wayne Chism is off a career-high 30 points against South Carolina and he needs to be a defensive stalwart on the road. The Vols are just 2-5 ATS in last seven conference games.
The Volunteers are 13-5-1 ATS in last 19 battles, including 7-2 ATS at Vandy and are three-point road underdogs at Bookmaker.com.
State line collision
Kohl Center, Madison - 7 p.m. (ET)
Illinois and Wisconsin really don’t have much of a rivalry except for those that live on either side of the border between the two states. Folks south of the border see Wisconsin as nice quiet place to visit for vacations and those from the Badger State have little use for “those flatlanders.”
The Kohl Center will be no vacation spot for coach Bruce Weber’s club, who is off its signature win of the season against Michigan State 78-73. The Fighting Illini (16-8, 8-13-1 ATS) has won four in a row and is in a three-way tie for second place, one game behind Michigan State; however, they are only 2-7-1 ATS off a cover since last season.
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The Badgers (18-5, 13-8 ATS) have just taken care of both Michigan schools and return home where they are 13-0 and 8-3 ATS this season. Wisconsin is receiving fine performances from Keaton Nankivil and Jordan Taylor, both of whom have raised their play since Jon Leuer was injured. And coach Bo Ryan has developed a little depth with forward Ryan Evans and guard Rob Wilson making solid contributions. Off their win and cover at Ann Arbor, Wisconsin is 10-2 and 7-3 ATS after covering the oddsmakers number.
Wisconsin is an 8 ½-point favorite and is 3-0-1 ATS the last four times Illinois has visited and the Under is 4-1 in the Mad City. This encounter is on the Big Ten Network at 7 Eastern.
Spartans in survival mode
Breslin Center, East Lansing - 9 p.m. (ET) ESPN
Michigan State (19-5, 8-15 ATS) was winning, yet was far from pleasing in starting Big Ten play 9-0. Among the reasons is Raymar Morgan hasn’t always played with a complete effort and is Casper the Ghost on the floor at times, particularly when foul problems arrive.
Sophomore forward Delvon Roe continues to struggle, which is why sixth man Draymond Green continues to see heavy minutes. The Spartans were blasted by the Badgers for their first conference loss and with injured Kalin Lucas on the sidelines, could not match baskets with an improbable Illinois club.
Lucas’ status is still up in the air for tonight and it is time for these other players to assert themselves, since Purdue is in town and their mindset is aggressive. Sparty is 33-14 ATS when they grab more than 45 rebounds.
It seems odd a Top 20 team would still be tinkering with main players in February, yet this is exactly what coach Matt Painter has been doing. A few Purdue (19-3, 10-12 ATS) bench players and occasionally starters have been more erratic than the Real Housewives of Orange Country. Nobody would prefer to have certain individuals step up more than Painter, with eight Big Ten games on the docket.
Sophomore point guard Lewis Jackson has played 41 total minutes in three games since returning from a broken left foot that sidelined him, and some of the rust is starting to come off which would help since the Boilermakers are 4-14 ATS as a road underdog of 3½-6 points.
First place Michigan State is favored by three points and is 9-1 and 7-3 ATS at the Breslin Center vs. Purdue with 6-2 'under' mark.