Vanderbilt Basketball Takes Down Bellarmine to Start New Season – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt men’s basketball started its 2026-27 season off right, beating Bellarmine by a score of 93-47.
While it was not immediate, the big run that was expected of Vanderbilt eventually happened. The Commodores were tied with Bellarimine at 14 at the midway point of the first half. In fact, Vanderbilt was getting outrebounded early in the game as well.
But then, Vanderbilt got settled in on both ends of the floor and used a 21-2 run to run away with the game. From being tied at 14 to taking a 35-16 lead the Commodores found success with their size in the paint and used it to their advantage.
From then on, it was all Vanderbilt the rest of the game. Vanderbilt took a 44-17 lead going into halftime and continued it through the second half. At its highest point, Vanderbilt's scoring run extended to a 50-7 run until the middle stages of the first half.
It was a game where Vanderbilt’s stars were the stars of the night. Point guard Tyler Tanner was himself as he finished the game with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, six assists and four steals in the game.
Vanderbilt big man Berke Buyuktuncel was a force inside for Vanderbilt and served as the catalyst for the Commodores pulling away and creating a massive scoring run. His ability to use his size to his team’s advantage in paint was the difference early on before Vanderbilt got everyone else involved. Buyuktuncel shot a perfect 5-for-5 from the floor and scored 13 points while grabbing two rebounds.
As a team, Vanderbilt shot 60% from the floor, hit seven of its 19 three-pointers and shot 80% from the free throw line on 25 attempts.
Vanderbilt's defense was another mainstay throughout the night. The Commodores locked down Bellarmine's offense after the first 10 minutes of the game. Vanderbilt was able to create turnovers and win the rebound battle 38-20 after it initially trailed on the boards the first few minutes. Williams-Adams led the team with nine rebounds.
Vanderbilt will be back in action later this week as it looks to start 2-0 on the season. The Commodores welcome Wake Forest to Memorial Gymnasium for a 5 p.m. CT tipoff time. It will be the back half of the home-and-home series after Vanderbilt won in Winston-Salem a season ago.
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Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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