The SEC Tournament is down to eight teams squaring off in four quarterfinals on Friday. Fifth-seeded Tennessee, fresh off a comeback win over Auburn, faces in-state rival, fourth-seeded Vanderbilt, for the third time this season.
Friday's Tennessee-Vanderbilt contest is the second game of the day in Nashville and is slated for 3:30 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena on ESPN. The Commodores are narrow 1.5-point favorites.
Below, we’ll break down our Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt prediction and picks for Friday afternoon’s game. Make your college basketball picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt Prediction, Spread, Over/Under
Tennessee and Vanderbilt met last Saturday in the regular-season finale, with Vanderbilt earning an 86-82 road win to earn the four seed and double-bye in the SEC Tournament. The Vols took the first meeting on the road in Nashville, 69-65.
The teams split the season series last year as well, but Tennessee holds an all-time 133-78 advantage.
Per Joe Lunardi of ESPN, both teams are comfortably in the NCAA Tournament field, with Tennessee listed as a five or six seed in most mock brackets and Vanderbilt solidly a five seed.
The Commodores are a small 1.5-point favorite on Friday's spread. The winner of this contest moves on to play the winners of ninth-seeded Kentucky and top-seeded Florida on Saturday.
Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt Spread, Over/Under
The Commodores enter Friday’s SEC Tournament game as 1.5-point favorites, returning a 1.78x payout on PrizePicks Team Picks if they win.
The Volunteers are underdogs with a 1.96x payout if they win, via PrizePicks Team Picks, where you can earn money with your picks in 34 states.
- Spread: Vanderbilt Commodores -1.5
- Over/Under: 145.5
- Game Winner Payout: Vanderbilt 1.78x | Tennessee 1.96x
Team Picks data is live at the time of writing and is subject to change.
Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt Prediction on Spread – 3/13/26
Here are the key stats to know before locking in your SEC Tournament Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt college basketball prediction on the spread for Friday, March 13, on PrizePicks.
- Tennessee is 14-17-1 against the spread, covering vs. Auburn on Thursday after not covering in three of its last four regular-season games.
- The Volunteers are 3-1 ATS as an underdog, best in the SEC. Those three covers were outright wins vs. third-ranked Houston, at 17th-ranked Alabama, and at 19th-ranked Vanderbilt.
- Per KenPom, Tennessee is ranked 14th in the country in net rating, also owning an offensive rating of 121.2 (36th) and a defensive rating of 94.8 (14th).
- The Tennessee defense is first in the SEC (60th in the country), holding opponents to 69.2 PPG.
- Tennessee G Ja'Kobi Gillespie is eighth in the SEC, posting 17.9 PPG, and second in assists at 5.5 per game.
- Vanderbilt is 16-15 ATS but has failed to cover in four of the last six games. However, they did cover on the road at Tennessee last Saturday. They're 14-12 ATS as a favorite, fourth-best in the conference.
- Per KenPom, Vanderbilt sits 13th in the country overall, with an offensive rating of 125.6 (10th) and a defensive rating of 99.2 (28th).
- The Commodores score 86.9 PPG, 13th in the nation and sixth in the SEC.
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Make #25 Tennessee vs. #22 Vanderbilt Picks on PrizePicks
A berth in the SEC Tournament semifinals is on the line on Friday as fifth-seeded Tennessee and fourth-seeded Vanderbilt play the rubber match after both sides won at each other’s arena this season.
You can make your Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money. Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
Keep tabs on the Playbook for continued college basketball predictions, picks, and news.
