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Best Bet: VAN O86.5 (-120) at DraftKings
Score Prediction: Vanderbilt 87, Wake Forest 67
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The Pick: Vanderbilt 87, Wake Forest 67
We’ll take the Vanderbilt team total based on the Commodores’ home data against non-conference schools.
Game Betting Analysis
We’re going to take the Vanderbilt team total based on some of the data presented for this one, beginning with the total. Vanderbilt has scored at least 88 total points in eight of its last nine non-conference home games, also scoring 86 points or more in the last two meetings against Wake Forest – the most recent meeting last season in which the Commodores put up 98 in a 30+ point blowout. Wake Forest is also coming off a win in which they allowed 62 points to UMES, as Vanderbilt at home is a much different animal to contain.
Wake Forest-Vanderbilt Odds (Spread, Moneyline, Over/Under)
Deciding Factor: Tyler Tanner’s Vanderbilt Pressure Defense vs. Wake Forest’s Suspect Perimeter Shooting
Vanderbilt enters tonight ranked No. 24 and 1-0 after an opening blowout of Bellarmine, a 93-47 win in which the Commodores forced 23 turnovers and scored 37 points directly off them. Preseason All-American Tyler Tanner set the tone with 20 points, six assists and four steals, and Washington State transfer Ace Glass has slotted in alongside him to give Vanderbilt a backcourt that’s forcing chaos early. KenPom rates Vanderbilt’s defense ninth nationally and the team eighth overall, and the Commodores have recent history on their side here too, having throttled Wake Forest 98-67 on the road just last December. With Memorial Gymnasium hosting and a double-digit spread already on the board, Vanderbilt’s defensive pressure projects as the swing factor in whether this stays competitive or turns into a repeat blowout.
Wake Forest, meanwhile, is also 1-0 after beating Maryland Eastern Shore 83-62, forcing 18 turnovers and scoring 25 fast-break points of its own, but the Demon Deacons shot just 30.4% from three in that opener, and this is an almost entirely rebuilt roster under Steve Forbes with little returning production from a season ago. Merrimack transfer Kevair Kennedy (14 points, nine rebounds, eight assists against MES) is the player tasked with absorbing Tanner’s ball pressure, while freshman Gavin Placide (20 points) and Monmouth transfer Justin Ray (15 points on six shots) need to keep hitting from the perimeter against a defense that just held an opponent to 47 points. KenPom pegs this as a roughly 16-point gap per 100 possessions, and Wake Forest hasn’t won a true road game against a top-25 opponent since January 2010, going 3-6 against the spread on the road a year ago. If Kennedy can’t slow Tanner and the Demon Deacons’ shooting stays cold, this has the look of another lopsided result like last December’s meeting rather than the closer game the spread alone might suggest.
Game Information
- Date: Thursday, November 5, 2026
- Kickoff: 6:00 p.m. (ET)
- Network: ESPN2, ESPN+
- Location: Nasvhille, Tennessee
- Venue: Memorial Gymnasium
College Basketball Game Trends & Odds
Key Players
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Gavin Placide — Last Game: 20 points, 7 rebounds
- Kevair Kennedy — Last Game: 14 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists
Vanderbilt Commodores
- Tyler Tanner — Last Game: 20 points, 6 assists
- Berke Buyuktuncel — Last Game: 13 points
Photo Credit: REUTERS
