The 2023 National Invitation Tournament begins on Tuesday, March 14, when 16 teams take the floor, and here you can get the best Bulldogs vs. Commodores betting pick and odds.

Vanderbilt is welcoming Yale at Memorial Gymnasium (TN) in the first round of the NIT. The Commodores are -3.5 favorites on Bovada Sportsbook, while the total is set at 146.5 points. These non-conference rivals will meet for the first time since 2015. The winner of this tilt will face Michigan or Toledo in the next round.

Bulldogs lost the Ivy League final to Princeton

The Yale Bulldogs (21-8, 17-9-1 ATS) ended the regular season with three straight wins and then comfortably beat the Cornell Big Red in the Ivy League tournament semifinal. However, they couldn’t make one final step and defeat the Princeton Tigers for the title, and therefore missed out on the NCAA tournament. The Tigers won 74-65 thanks to a stronger defense and better accuracy from the foul line. The Bulldogs shot 44.0% from the field, and made 13 free throws opposite Princeton’s 19, while Yale committed twice as many turnovers (10-5).

Sophomore guard Bez Mbeng led the Bulldogs with 18 points and six rebounds. Matt Knowling chipped in 14 points and game-high five assists off the bench, while August Mahoney had 13 points and four boards.

Commodores were stopped by Texas A&M in the SEC semis

The Vanderbilt Commodores (20-14, 19-15-0 ATS) defeated the LSU Tigers in the second round of the SEC tournament and beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the quarter-final, but lost to the Texas A&M Aggies in the semis. The Commodores displayed a horrible first-half performance and scored just 25 points and allowed 49 in return. Vanderbilt was much better in the second 20 minutes and scored 50, but that wasn’t enough to avoid an 87-75 loss. The Commodores shot pretty well from the floor (53.8%), but Texas A&M was better in both rebounds (30-21) and assists (20-14), while Vanderbilt committed 17 and forced 12 turnovers on the other end.

Junior guard Tyrin Lawrence led the Commodores with 18 points and two steals. Jordan Wright contributed 17 points, game-high seven rebounds, six assists, and game-high five thefts, Ezra Manjon had 16 points and game-high seven dimes, while Colin Smith scored 15 points.

Trends:

Yale:

  • 1-4-1 ATS in the last six games following an ATS loss
  • 0-9 SU in the last nine games against the SEC opponents

Vanderbilt:

  • 5-1 ATS in the last six games overall
  • 5-0 ATS in the last five home games
  • 7-1 ATS in the last eight games following an ATS loss

Yale Bulldogs vs. Vanderbilt Commodores Pick

The Bulldogs have a better offense and defense than the Commodores, but Vanderbilt is coming from a way stronger conference and has a home-court advantage. Yale scores 76.2 points per game opposite Vanderbilt’s 72.5 points per contest, while the Bulldogs allow 63.0 ppg opposite the Commodores’ 72.1 ppg. The Commodores won five consecutive games at home, and I’d be surprised if they lose on Tuesday and suffer elimination from the opening round of the NIT. They made it to the quarter-finals last year, while the Bulldogs were stopped in the second round. I don’t think Yale will even make it to the second round this time around.

Pick: Take the Commodores at -2.5 (-133)

The Total

Vanderbilt conceded at least 72 points in each of the last four games but also scored 75 points in each game in return. Yale’s offense struggled against Princeton in the most recent game, but the Bulldogs did score a minimum of 76 points in four games prior to that loss against the Tigers. Over is 34-16-1 in the Commodores’ last 51 overall; Over is 5-2 in Vanderbilt’s previous seven games following an ATS loss, while Over is 4-1 in the Bulldogs’ last five games following a straight-up loss.

Pick: Go Over 145.5 points (-120)