Anchor Drop, January 11, 2020: What have we done to deserve this?

Good morning.

Yesterday, we had to go and write that Vanderbilt is actually favored to beat Texas A&M (that game is today at 2:30 PM CT on the SEC Network, by the way.) God’s vengeance for this act of having optimism for any Vanderbilt sports team that is not baseball was met with a swift and severe rebuke.

Late Friday night, the Hustler reported that Aaron Nesmith, the SEC’s leading scorer, is out “indefinitely” with a stress fracture and also speculated that Nesmith “will likely miss the remainder of the 2019-2020 college basketball season, per sources close to the team.” Great. Just when we had hope, it’s swiftly taken away from us.

Now, let’s make one thing clear. With Nesmith this season, Vanderbilt was 8-6 and wasn’t going to go to the NCAA Tournament or even the NIT, and was a long shot to even finish the season with a winning record. But this news just took an already bad season and made it even worse.

Anyway — on to happier news. Vanderbilt bowling won all five of its games (INCLUDING OVER BLOOD RIVAL MCKENDREE) on the first day of the Stormin’ Blue & Gold Vegas Classic, which continues today. And men’s tennis swept Belmont on Friday in the first day of the Coach LaLance Invite in Murfreesboro.

Abbey Carlson and Auston Kim will compete in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur from April 1-4.

Here’s a story about how Vanderbilt women’s soccer made the jump from a club team to Division I, and a preview of the lacrosse team’s defenders.

Earlier Friday, the Hustler posted that Vanderbilt is searching for answers in the absence of Clevon Brown, which almost feels quaint at this point.

VandySports has a new podcast with associate AD Tommy Smith.

Bad Gambling Advice

For the record, I’m making these picks around midnight. I can almost guarantee you that the line on the Vanderbilt game has moved.

Alabama at Kentucky (11:00 AM CT, ESPN): Alabama +8.5, Over 153

Georgia at Auburn (11:00 AM CT, ESPNews): Georgia +11, Over 149.5

South Carolina at Tennessee (12:00 PM CT, SEC Network): Tennessee -6.5, Under 131.5

Texas A&M at Vanderbilt (2:30 PM CT, SEC Network): Texas A&M +5.5, Under 132

Arkansas at Ole Miss (5:00 PM CT, SEC Network): Ole Miss +3, Under 139

Mississippi State at LSU (7:00 PM CT, ESPN): LSU -8, Over 145.5

Florida at Missouri (7:30 PM CT, SEC Network): Missouri +3, Over 129

Scoreboard

NBA: Wizards 111, Hawks 101 ... Pelicans 123, Knicks 111 ... Nets 117, Heat 113 ... Grizzlies 134, Spurs 121 ... Pacers 116, Bulls 105 ... Suns 98, Magic 94 ... Jazz 109, Hornets 92 ... Lakers 129, Mavericks 114 ... Bucks 127, Kings 106 ... Clippers 109, Warriors 100.

NHL: Red Wings 3, Senators 2 ... Hurricanes 3, Coyotes 0 ... Penguins 4, Avalanche 3.

PGA Tour: Brendan Steele and Cameron Davis are tied for the lead after two rounds at the Sony Open in Hawaii.