Nebraska and Vanderbilt meet in a Round of 32 matchup on Saturday that appears to be underpriced despite what both teams’ seeds might suggest.
The fifth-seeded Commodores are slight favorites, at -1.5 points as of this writing, but the fourth-seeded Cornhuskers have a real case in this matchup with their stout defense and how convincing they were in a 76-47 win over Troy in the round of 64.
As the final score indicates, Nebraska dominated the Round of 64 game, taking a 10-point lead into halftime and never looking back while allowing 25 or fewer points in both frames.
Vanderbilt’s win wasn’t exactly pretty.
The Commodores eventually came away with a 78-68 win over McNeese, but that score is a bit misleading because the Cowboys led by 11 at halftime and the game remained well-contested in the second half.
The defense has been Nebraska’s calling card all season, ranking in the top 10 in that end nationally in this game, according to KenPom.
Vanderbilt shot the ball well against a much worse defense in McNeese, shooting 52 percent overall and 38 percent from 3, but the Commodores were sloppy in the possession game, turning the ball over 13 times and allowing 16 offensive rebounds.
Betting on college basketball?
This won’t fly against the Cornhuskers.
The SEC champion was the trendy pick for many heading into the tournament, given the incredible turnaround of the program in just a few short years, but sometimes an unexciting pick is the way to go.
Take the underdog in what should be a tight spot.
The Play: Nebraska +1.5 (-110, BetMGM Sportsbook)
Why trust the New York Post to bet
Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across multiple sports. He is particularly knowledgeable about the big three – MLB, NFL, and NBA.