The South Carolina Gamecocks take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville, TN. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Vanderbilt is favored by 8.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -375. The total is set at 143.5 points.
Here are my South Carolina vs. Vanderbilt predictions and college basketball picks for January 15, 2025.
South Carolina vs Vanderbilt Prediction
My Pick: PASS | Lean Vanderbilt -7.5, Under 143.5
My South Carolina vs Vanderbilt best bet is on the Commodores spread, with the best odds currently available at FanDuel. For all of your college basketball bets, find the best lines using our live NCAAB odds page.
South Carolina vs Vanderbilt Odds
| South Carolina Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -110 | 143.5 -112 / -108 | +295 |
| Vanderbilt Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -110 | 143.5 -112 / -108 | -375 |
- South Carolina vs Vanderbilt spread: Vanderbilt -8.5
- South Carolina vs Vanderbilt over/under: 143.5 points
- South Carolina vs Vanderbilt moneyline: Vanderbilt -375, South Carolina +295
- South Carolina vs Vanderbilt best bet: PASS | Lean Vanderbilt -7.5, Under 143.5
Spread
I'm passing on the spread. But if I felt compelled to bet on this game, I'd likely lay the points with Vanderbilt.
Moneyline
I'm passing on the moneyline.
Over/Under
I'm passing on the over/under. But if I had to, I would take the under, as South Carolina always plays low-scoring grinders.
My Pick: PASS | Lean Vanderbilt -7.5, Under 143.5
South Carolina vs Vanderbilt College Basketball Betting Preview
South Carolina was this close to pulling off an upset home win against top-ranked Auburn, especially after Johni Broome went down.
Alas, Collin Murray-Boyles’ 25-point, seven-rebound, two-assist performance wasn’t enough, and the Gamecocks fell to 0-3 in SEC play, with two losses to KenPom top-10 teams.
Typically, this would be an ideal spot for a South Carolina bounce back. However, Vanderbilt is returning home and looking to rebound from a two-game skid (losses to Mississippi State and Missouri).
The Commodores are the prototypical Mark Byington team: guard-friendly, pressure-happy, up-tempo and spread-ball-screen centric. The guard trio of AJ Hoggard, Jason Edwards and Grant Huffman fits perfectly into that two-way scheme.
Lamont Paris and the Gamecocks operate on the other end of the spectrum.
South Carolina is frontcourt-centric, running methodical half-court sets through the post on offense (posting, cutting, high-low actions) and strict drop-coverage on defense, emphasizing rim denial and catch-and-shoot denial rather than turnovers.
Murray-Boyles and Alabama transfer Nick Pringle lead the two-way frontcourt charge for the Gamecocks.
In short, Vanderbilt is aggressive, and South Carolina is passive.
Honestly, I’m unsure who that favors.
On the one hand, the Gamecocks’ transition and rim defense is surprisingly poor for a slow-paced squad that plays drop coverage.
They'll invite Vanderbilt’s on-ball backcourt creation, and the Commodores could eat in the paint (39 paint PPG, 95th percentile) against a surprisingly poor South Carolina paint defense (32 paint PPG allowed, 49th percentile).
However, Vanderbilt also relies reasonably heavily on attack-and-kick catch-and-shoot basketball to generate perimeter offense, and you won’t get that against South Carolina, which allows the fourth-fewest catch-and-shoot jumpers per game nationally (13).
On the other end of the court, Vanderbilt is an above-average post-up defense (.81 PPP allowed, 64th percentile), so I’d like to think the Commodores could hold their own against South Carolina’s frontcourt actions.
But Vanderbilt is small on the front line, and the ‘Dores rely more on extended pressure defense to deny the post altogether. South Carolina is an excellent press offense (1.01 PPP, 81st percentile), so I could easily see the Gamecocks slicing through the pressure and dominating the wide-open interior.
Then again, South Carolina point guard Jamarii Thomas recently sprained his knee and will be out of the lineup for three weeks, and I don’t love how that bodes against a guard-heavy squad.
Also, wing Myles Stute is questionable.
I have little feel for this matchup, and I also project the spread and total around the market prices. This game is a pure pass for me.
Although, it’s worth mentioning that Vanderbilt is 10-3 ATS as a favorite this year, while South Carolina is 2-4 ATS as an underdog. The Commodores likely have enough firepower to run over a shorthanded Gamecocks squad.
Additionally, these two teams are a combined 19-13 to the under this year. South Carolina grinds the game to a halt, so I could see this matchup staying under the closing total.
