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Men’s Basketball: Previewing Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky
No. 18 Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball once again returned to Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday, Jan. 27, to take on the red-hot Kentucky Wildcats. The Commodores ran away with the game from the start, eventually prevailing 80-55 to improve to 18-3 on the season.
This was a heavily anticipated matchup between two of the better teams in the conference, especially as the Wildcats were coming off a five-game winning streak in the SEC. A winter storm that struck middle Tennessee with inches of ice left some open seats in Memorial Gym, but both teams showed out for the contingent of faithful fans in attendance.
The first half was all Vanderbilt as it raced out to a 43-23 lead. Tanner dropped 12 points to pace the Commodores through 20 minutes, but several other contributors stepped up in big ways. Vanderbilt won the rebounding battle and turnover battle, allowing them to dominate in the first period and take a commanding lead.
The second half was not very different. Vanderbilt continued to apply pressure on Kentucky’s guards while putting on an offensive show, good enough to take down a formidable Wildcats squad at home, 80-55.
“There’s a lot of different thoughts going into a game like this,” head coach Mark Byington said postgame. “And obviously we’ve got tremendous respect for Kentucky. They were playing an extremely high level coming into the game and [had] won five straight SEC games. That’s really tough to do. I thought [the victory] showed guys taking the opportunity and being ready to play.”
Star Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles was ruled out before the contest began, forcing Byington to get creative with the starting lineup. He opted to go big for his starting five, employing Tanner, Devin McGlockton, Tyler Nickel, Jalen Washington and AK Okereke. He used a variety of lineups throughout the 40 minutes, though, relying on several roleplayers to contribute key minutes.
Byington made sure to touch on the details of Miles’ injury in his postgame presser.
“He’ll be back. He was a great leader today, and he’s been playing through some pain like everyone knows,” Byington said. “He won’t be out long. He’s [going to] get surgery tomorrow morning, and then he’s [going to] attack rehab.”
First half
Kentucky won the tip as the Wildcats’ offense looked to build off a stellar last five games. A fumbled ball led to a turnover on the first possession, though, allowing Tanner to make a layup in transition. A Nickel triple then forced the crowd into a frenzy, as he made a deep one from the left side for the Commodores to take a 7-0 lead at the 17:10 mark.
Kentucky’s Denzel Aberdeen drew the foul on the opposite end, but he missed both free throws as the crowd erupted (for both the misses and free Shake Shack). Nickel converted a layup after Tanner forced a turnover, putting the Commodores up 9-4 as the first media timeout arrived at 14:40.
Tanner immediately hit back-to-back shots out of the break, before taking a steal and hitting a big dunk, extending Vanderbilt’s lead to 15-4. Exchanged triples from Aberdeen and McGlockton put the score at 18-7 in favor of the Commodores at the 11:41 mark.
Okereke and McGlockton, two players not known as elite perimeter threats, then hit big shots from beyond the arc, as Vanderbilt’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders. Another Tanner steal and finish put Vanderbilt up 26-10, its largest lead of the night. Nickel hit a massive triple as the third media timeout of the half hit at 7:14, with the Commodores firmly in control of the game.
Star Kentucky guard Otega Oweh, who was averaging 16.1 points per game coming into the contest, then hit his first bucket of the game, following it up with a dunk to bring his total to four on the night. This Kentucky comeback was short-lived, though, as Chandler Bing and McGlockton hit back-to-back 3-pointers as Mark Pope called for timeout with the Commodores up 38-19 and 3:40 on the clock.
Both teams exchanged some empty possessions near the end of the half, before Jayden Leverett hit a buzzer-beating layup to end the first 20 minutes. Vanderbilt was in firm control with a 43-23 lead at halftime. Tanner had 12 points with McGlockton and Nickel dropping 9 and 8 points, respectively.
Second half
Nickel made an immediate bucket out of the break, followed up by two made free throws from Tanner. Oweh finally hit a triple on the other end, on his third attempt of the evening, before hitting a jumper to bring the score to 47-29 with 17:45 to go.
Tanner then hit a huge step-back 3-pointer, sending Memorial Gym into a craze as a media timeout hit at 14:35. A few exchanged points between Okereke and Aberdeen kept Vanderbilt’s lead at 21, as the Commodores went up 54-33 and approached the halfway mark of the second half.
The Wildcats continued to struggle to keep possession of the ball and score, as Vanderbilt forced three consecutive turnovers to go on a 7-0 run in just over two minutes. A media timeout hit at 10:55, with Vanderbilt firmly in control at 59-33.
Kentucky’s Malachi Moreno hit two free throws to stop the bleeding, but the Wildcats still hadn’t hit a field goal in over four minutes. It certainly helped the Commodores that they had entered the bonus, as McGlockton was fouled on an in-bound play, sending him to the line. Vanderbilt consistently got to the charity stripe in the middle minutes of the half, as it made seven free throws to build its 66-40 lead at the 7:58 mark.
Bing and Aberdeen exchanged deep balls, before Nickel hit the and-one much to the delight of the Vanderbilt crowd. Things started to slow down for the Commodores after that, as they began drawing out possessions to run the clock.
Kentucky’s Mouhamed Dioubate hit a crucial bucket as the final media timeout of the game hit with Vanderbilt in front, 72-48. The Commodores slowly cruised to victory from there, as Bing hit an emphatic dunk to seal it, 80-55.
The Commodores’ production slowed in the second half from a statistical perspective, as they ended the game shooting 40% from the field and 39% from deep. Still, it was a dominant win for Vanderbilt at home against a quality opponent after losing three of its last four games.
The ‘Dores will return to action at Ole Miss on Saturday, Jan. 31, as they try to earn a third-straight victory.
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