Kentucky Wildcats vs Vanderbilt Commodores Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/27/2026

Game Time: 9:00 pm ET, Tuesday, January 27, 2026

Venue:  Memorial Gymnasium, Nashville, TN

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Kentucky +6.5, Vanderbilt -6.5; Over/Under:  159.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Kentucky +6.5, Vanderbilt -6.5; Over/Under:  159.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Kentucky +6.5, Vanderbilt -6.5; Over/Under:  159.5 points

Kentucky Wildcats:  14-6 (5-2) (4th place, SEC)

Vanderbilt Commodores:  17-3 (4-3) (7th place, SEC)

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Kentucky Wildcats:  5-0  last 5

Vanderbilt Commodores:  2-3  last 5

Kentucky is entering this game with a 14-6 record overall, a 5-2 record in conference games, and they are 2-2 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Mississippi Rebels in their last game. Otega Oweh led the team in points in that game with 23 while Collin Chandler was next on the team with 12. Denzel Aberdeen led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Malachi Moreno led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 36% from the field, 29.6% from 3-point range, and 73.7% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 82.5 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 70.3 PPG against them. Kentucky has an ATS record of 8-12 this season and their O/U record is 9-11.

Vanderbilt is entering this game with a 17-3 record overall, a 4-3 conference record, and they are 9-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are coming off a win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their last game. Tyler Tanner led the team in points in that game with 24 while Duke Miles was next on the team with 17. Tyler Tanner led the team in assists with 5 in that game while Jalen Washington led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 53.8% from the field, 32% from 3-point range, and 90.9% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 90.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 74 PPG against them. Vanderbilt has an ATS record of 11-9 this season and their O/U record is 10-10.

The current betting odds have Kentucky listed as a 6.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Kentucky has looked good in their games this season with their 14-6 record overall and their 5-2 conference record which has them in the top half of the SEC. They haven't been a great road team though with their 2-2 road record this year. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt has looked great in their games this season with their 17-3 record overall and their 4-3 conference record which has them in the top half of the SEC. They have looked great on their home court too with their 9-1 home record this season. Vandy was rolling to start the season and were even undefeated to start the SEC schedule, but they didn't have a strong preseason schedule and now it is starting to show. What looked to be the best team in the SEC this year has reverted back to just a solid team in the league with 3 losses coming in their last 5 games now. They are 2-3 in their last 5 with a home loss to Florida and they have struggled more as the competition has gotten harder. They are off a big win over Mississippi State in their last one, but now they are facing one of the teams that is supposed to be competing for the SEC this year. Kentucky has been the opposite team this season, struggling with a tougher schedule to start the year, but they have actually looked better in the SEC. They are off a big win over Ole Miss in their last one and they have been rolling in their games lately with 5 wins in a row now. Kentucky is starting to get into a groove now, playing better against stronger opponents, while Vanderbilt has started to show some cracks now with the games getting harder. The best way to place a bet here is on Kentucky to cover the spread in this game. 

Kentucky Vanderbilt Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Tuesday, January 27, 2026 (9:00 pm ET start time) is Kentucky 83 Vanderbilt 81.

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Kentucky Wildcats: 9-19 ATS off a win against a conference rival. 7-13 ATS after 3 or more consecutive wins. 16-30 1H ATS versus very good teams - outscoring their opponents by 8+ points/game. 13-7 UNDER when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 80%). 11-5 UNDER on the road after playing 2 consecutive home games. 

Vanderbilt Commodores: 6-2 ATS off a road win. 16-10 ATS after playing a road game. 20-12 1H ATS versus good rebounding teams - outrebounding opponents by 4+ per game. 26-18 UNDER in all home games. 16-9 UNDER after scoring 85 points or more.

Kentucky Wildcats:  B. Hawthorne (F) Doubtful - Calf. K. Williams (G) Out - Foot. J. Lowe (G) Out - Undisclosed. J. Quaintance (F) Out - Knee.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  F. Collins (G) Questionable - Knee. G. Kimble (G) Out - Knee.

“I actually thought the first half was incredible. What’s it been, a month since we had a lead at the end of the half? I thought it was amazing. I’ll take that every time. Mississippi does an unbelievable job. Chris is a great coach, and he does an unbelievable job of just mucking up the game. Just mucking it up. It hurt us that O was on the bench for a lot of the first half, for sure. But I thought Trent came and gave us a great run; I thought Jasper was, again, great tonight. And when you play a team like that that switches and is so physical and gaps you up and is really game-planning – they really,really gameplan you; he does a great job game-planning — you just understand that it’s gonna be a mucky-muck game, and it’s not really about fixing it and making it beautiful. It’s about can you keep your mentality focused through the frustration. Our guys did a good job doing that.” - Mark Pope after his team’s win against Ole Miss in their last game. 

"We were excited to play. And, you know, we had a tough stretch, and, you know, with our opponents and then different circumstances and things like that. But, our guys understand the process of getting better, the process of what's next, and they did that. They didn't let anything linger from a from a hard game, the game before that, or anything that might have happened. So, just our approach, I thought we had our edge. Our activity was great. Our defense was really locked in today, and they (Mississippi State) have some talented offensive players. The SEC leading scorer in the league, he's tough to guard. Our guys' approach to the game was really good." - Mark Byington after his team’s win against Mississippi State in their last game. 

D. Aberdeen 

C. Chandler 

M. Dioubate 

B. Garrison 

O. Oweh

D. McGlockton 

D. Miles 

T. Nickel 

A. Okereke 

T. Tanner

PPG: Otega Oweh (16.1)

APG: Denzel Aberdeen (3.2)

Reb/G: Malachi Moreno (6.4)

PPG: Tyler Tanner (17.4)

APG: Tyler Tanner (5.3)

Reb/G: Devin McGlockton (6.7)

Coaches:

Kentucky Wildcats: Mark Pope (2nd season)

Vanderbilt Commodores: Mark Byington (2nd season)