The SEC provides great matchups on a weekly basis and this Wednesday showdown is no different. In a game far more interesting than many expected even weeks ago, unbeaten Vanderbilt heads out to take on a Texas team still looking to prove themselves and show they belong as a contender in this league.
Everything has gone well at Vanderbilt (16-0) during this perfect start to the season, including a quick 3-0 spurt to begin SEC play. Last week’s win over Alabama was perhaps the most notable of a long line of great wins during the Commodores’ hot start this year. Their offense is performing at a high level and Mark Byington is really getting it all out of this group of players.
Things are a bit less concrete with Texas (10-6) under first-year head coach Sean Miller. The Longhorns haven’t necessarily been bad but wasted nearly every opportunity in nonconference play and have had notable defensive struggles. They gave up over 100 points at home to Mississippi State in the conference debut but shocked a lot of people with last weekend’s upset win at Alabama. Was that the first step towards a rebound for these Longhorns?
Vanderbilt vs. Texas: When and Where
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026, 9:00 pm ET
Location: Moody Center in Austin, Texas
Vanderbilt vs. Texas: Where to Watch or Stream
Watch: ESPN2
Streaming: FuboTV
Vanderbilt vs. Texas: Betting Odds
Spread: Vanderbilt -6.5, Texas +6.5
Moneyline: Vanderbilt -235, Texas +212
Total: 166.5
Vanderbilt vs. Texas: Series History
All-time series: Series tied 5-5
Last meeting: Texas 79, Vanderbilt 72 (March 12, 2025)
Projected Starting Lineups
Vanderbilt Commodores
Tyler Tanner (17.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.4 apg)
Duke Miles (17.2 ppg, 4.4 apg)
Tyler Nickel (15.0 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
Devin McGlockton (10.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg)
AK Okereke (8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Texas Longhorns
Dailyn Swain (15.8 ppg, 7.1 rpg)
Matas Vokietaitis (14.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
Jordan Pope (13.1 ppg, 2.6 apg)
Tramon Mark (12.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
Camden Heide (7.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
The initial thought is that Texas’s defensive struggles provide a pretty dire matchup against a Vanderbilt team that’s been scoring and producing almost at will. Even though this game is in Austin, the Commodores will again be ready to do their business on the road and Texas really needs to kick it into a second gear. They got a brilliant performance from Pope in that win over the Crimson Tide and will likely need him and/or someone else to really show out if they want to strike gold twice in a row. Let’s not just call this easy for Vanderbilt, as no road game in this conference is easy after all.
Does Vanderbilt find a way to get the job done on the road and secure a seventeenth consecutive win to open this season? Could we see Texas strike that gold again and find a way to claw out another ranked win, getting themselves back into the middle of the SEC race?