The Vanderbilt Commodores take on the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, AR. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Arkansas is favored by 1.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -125. The total is set at 174.5 points.
Here’s my Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas predictions and college basketball picks for January 20, 2026.
Vanderbilt vs Arkansas Prediction
My Pick: Over 174.5
My Vanderbilt vs Arkansas best bet is on the over. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas Odds
| Vanderbilt Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -110 | 174.5 -115 / -105 | +105 |
| Arkansas Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 -110 | 174.5 -115 / -105 | -125 |
- Vanderbilt vs Arkansas spread: Arkansas -1.5
- Vanderbilt vs Arkansas over/under: 174.5 points
- Vanderbilt vs Arkansas moneyline: Vanderbilt +105, Arkansas -125
Vanderbilt vs Arkansas College Basketball Betting Preview
Vanderbilt Basketball
Vanderbilt comes into this matchup on a two-game losing streak after losses at Texas and at home against Florida.
The Commodores still own a top-25 defense on KenPom, but they haven’t played like it in conference action.
Vanderbilt ranks 12th in the SEC in defensive efficiency during league play, with opponents shooting 57.6% from 2-point range (15th out of 16 SEC teams).
The lack of size in the frontcourt has been noticeable in conference play, showing up both in poor 2-point defense and a dead-last ranking in offensive rebounding percentage (24.7%) in SEC games.
Fortunately for Vanderbilt, its backcourt remains a problem for opposing teams.
Duke Miles plays his best basketball on the road. In five away games this season, Miles is averaging 21.6 points, five assists and three steals per game on 48/44/92 shooting splits.
Oh, and Tyler Tanner is also averaging 21 points per game in SEC play.
While Vanderbilt’s frontcourt has struggled, it now faces an Arkansas interior that has issues of its own.
Arkansas Basketball
Arkansas is 13-5 overall and 3-2 in SEC play after dropping two of its last three games by double figures.
As mentioned earlier, Vanderbilt owns the second-worst 2-point defense in conference play — right in front of Arkansas, which has been the worst (59.6%).
Offensively, Arkansas plays at the second-fastest tempo in SEC games and will continue to push the ball whenever possible, with Darius Acuff Jr. being electric in the open floor.
Acuff has scored 17 points or more in 12 straight games, and I expect that trend to continue at home, where he averages 19.6 points per game on 52/45/79 shooting splits.
Meleek Thomas is in need of a bounce-back performance after scoring just nine points on 4-of-17 shooting, including 1-of-6 from 3, in a loss at Georgia.
Fortunately for Arkansas, Thomas has been much better at home. He averages around 16 points per game in Fayetteville on 42/42/84 shooting splits, compared to 36/30/78 on the road.
Vanderbilt vs. Arkansas Betting Analysis
This is going to be the most entertaining game to watch on Tuesday.
Vanderbilt has been involved in high-scoring affairs against Alabama and Florida, and now faces an Arkansas team that's averaged 98.8 points per game at home since December 3.
The big question is which team will be able to get enough stops to win.
As good as Tanner and Miles are at generating steals, they can’t get one on every possession.
KenPom projects this as a one-point game, so I expect a tight contest with plenty of free throws late. Notably, these two teams rank first and second in free-throw percentage in conference play.
My Pick: Over 174.5
