VMI vs East Tennessee State Prediction 1/7/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The VMI Keydets and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers meet Wednesday in college basketball action from the Freedom Hall. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a VMI Keydets vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers prediction.

VMI Keydets Recap

The VMI Keydets come into this game looking to add on to their 79-71 win over Chattanooga last time out to sit at 6-9 this season. After this game, VMI will head on the road for a game against Furman.

Keydets Snap Two-Game Slide

TJ Johnson leads the Keydets in scoring and rebounding with 18.6 PPG and 7.4 RPG while Mario Tatum Jr. has 10.8 PPG and Linus Holmstrom has 10.7 PPG with 2.5 RPG to cap off the trio of double-digit scorers for VMI so far this season. Tan Yildizoglu has 8.9 PPG with 3.2 RPG and a team-high 4.1 APG to lead VMI in assists while Walker Andrews has 8.8 PPG and Jaylen Pazon has 7.8 PPG with 2.9 RPG. AJ Clark also has 6.4 PPG with 6.9 RPG as well this season. As a team, VMI is averaging 76.8 PPG on 41% shooting from the field, 32.7% from three and 72.9% from the foul line this season.

East Tennessee State Buccaneers Recap

The East Tennessee State Buccaneers come into this game looking to add on to their 77-71 win over Mercer last time out to sit at 10-5 this season. After this game, East Tennessee State will take on UNC Greensboro at home.

Buccaneers Pick Up Back-To-Back Wins

Brian Taylor II leads ETSU in scoring with 14.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG along with 2.7 APG while Cam MorrisIII has 13.3 PPG with 4.4 RPG. Jaylen Smith has 10.3 PPG with 3.1 RPG and 3 APG along with 1.9 SPG while Blake Barkley has 12.4 PPG with 4.4 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for ETSU so far this season. Jordan McCullum has 8.7 PPG with 4.3 RPG as well this season. Allen Strothers has 3.5 APG to lead the Buccaneers in assists up to this point in the year. As a team, East Tennessee State is averaging 78.1 PPG on 48.3% shooting from the field, 33.3% from three and 73.9% from the foul line this season. 

VMI Keydets vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers Prediction

I’m on the under in this game. I get the case to be made for either side in this game, but I just think that this VMI team isn’t going to be able to sustain this run offensively, and a lot of the head-to-head matchups between these two teams over the years continue to be low-scoring for the most part. I think this is going to be a battle, and in the end, I’ll roll with the under.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Under 147.5