Could Winthrop be next to upset Vanderbilt? Keys to game, betting odds, how to watch
Winthrop’s first regular season game against a high-major team since 2019 is almost here.
The Eagles (2-1), fresh off a road loss to Middle Tennessee State earlier this week, will play Vanderbilt (2-1) at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network +, a complementary digital-only platform run by the conference.
The last time Winthrop played a Power 5 basketball team was when it took on No. 1 Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in November 2019. (Winthrop lost that contest, but earlier that month, the Eagles defeated No. 18 Saint Mary’s on the road — a win that delivered Winthrop only its third win over a ranked team in program history and the first of all-time in a true road environment.)
This is the second all-time matchup between Winthrop and Vanderbilt. The Commodores won the only other encounter, 92-79, in the 2018 season-opener and are 14-0 against Big South teams.
Vanderbilt made unflattering headlines on Wednesday night, when the Jerry Stackhouse-coached team scored only 37 points and lost to mid-major traditional power VCU. Perhaps a blueprint for an Eagle upset can be found in Wednesday’s result — but can Winthrop make it happen?
Here’s what you need to know before Saturday’s tip-off.
Keys to the game for Winthrop
1. Keep DJ Burns out of foul trouble. The junior Rock Hill native — the big man that provides the kind of inside scoring that you rarely see in the Big South — has played six total minutes in the first half in the last two contests. Why? Two early fouls. Both games. The Big South Preseason Player of the Year, who was on the Vandy rival Tennessee roster for a year before coming home, is an anchor for a Winthrop offense that is still finding out what it is and what it could be. He’ll be needed Saturday.
2. Slow the game down? No way. The Eagles play fast. They scored 110 in their home-opener and have notched an average of 60.7 shot attempts per game. That’s their identity and has been for a decade. The strategy of slowing down is a tempting one — Vanderbilt only made two 3s and shot 23% from the field on a total of 52 shots on Wednesday night — but the Eagles shouldn’t change and risk foiling what makes the offense tick in the process. Run.
3. Correct free-throw shooting woes. For a team working through various scoring shortcomings, Winthrop can’t afford to shoot as poorly as it has from the line. The Eagles are averaging a 60.7% free-throw percentage — which is ranked 322nd in all of Division I college basketball as of Thursday, per sports-reference.com. (That figure is only slightly better than its 3-point percentage (43.9%) and its overall field goal percentage (52.2%).)
4. Cycle Russell Jones Jr., Micheal Anumba and Chase Claxton on Vandy’s Scotty Pippen Jr. Russell Jones Jr. ignited a comeback win over Mercer with his full-court defense last weekend. Chase Claxton finished second in all-conference defensive player of the year voting last year. And Micheal Anumba, now a senior, has started nearly every game of his college career because of his defensive prowess. The Eagles will need all of them to handle Vanderbilt’s backcourt. Something to go off of? VCU stifled the Commodores by double-teaming guard Scotty Pippen Jr. for most of Wednesday’s contest. (The junior was a preseason first-team All-SEC selection this year after having an all-conference season in 2020-21.)
Betting lines, over/under
The Eagles are nine-point underdogs as of Saturday morning, according to ActionNetwork.com. The over/under is 145.5.
How much money is Winthrop making off game vs Vanderbilt?
Winthrop will earn an $85,000 guarantee on Saturday, the fourth-most lucrative road game it’ll play this year.
How to watch
▪ Stream it on SECN+. It is accessible with your TV provider credentials and is available via the ESPN App on your smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices or espn.com/watch.
This story was originally published November 19, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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