Takeaways from Vanderbilt Basketball’s 92-91 loss to Oklahoma. – Sports Illustrated

NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt basketball suffered perhaps its first bad loss of the season Saturday. And there’s no way to sugarcoat it — it was a very bad loss. 
The Commodores were defeated 92-91 on their home court by Oklahoma, a team that entered Saturday a league-worst 1-9 in SEC play. After three straight wins, Mark Byington’s squad appeared unprepared for the Sooners, and were outplayed in nearly every facet from the jump. 
Once again without key guards Duke Miles and Frankie Collins, the Commodores found themselves off to their slowest start of the season, staring at an early 16-point deficit to the SEC’s worst team by record. Despite a late surge, it was "too little, too late," for Vanderbilt, and it ultimately dropped its fourth game of the season. Here’s a few takeaways from the upset defeat: 
Vanderbilt Discovered the Limits of its Depth 
The Commodores have largely avoided being burned by the absence of Miles and Collins — who have both been sidelined with knee injuries — but Saturday, they were torched by it. After Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt’s backcourt is extremely thin, with Chandler Bing and Mike James being thrusted into significant playing time over the past several games. Though the pair had held their own entering Saturday, they looked completely outmatched against Oklahoma, combining for 4 first-half fouls and 0 first-half points.  
The absence of Miles and Collins also put more pressure on Tanner to be the team’s primary scorer and ball-handler, and though the sophomore finished with a career-high 37 points on 18 free throw attempts, he shot just 10-of-23 from the field. Tanner also played 39-of-40minutes, and it’s fair to assume that some level of fatigue played a role in the Tennessee native’s five turnovers and below-average shooting percentage. Still, Tanner reached a new level of volume scoring Saturday, and kept Vanderbilt in the game when it was close to falling out.
An Uncharacteristically Slow Start 
Vanderbilt was playing from behind right from the opening tip Saturday, digging itself into an early 13-3 deficit and recording more fouls than points in the game’s first four minutes. Failing to find rhythm after a slew of turnovers and sloppy mistakes, the Commodores found themselves down 26-10 in the blink of an eye. Slow starts haven’t been much of an issue for Byington’s squad this season, but its cold open against the SEC’s worst team is cause for at least some concern. Without a clearly elite isolation scorer, Vanderbilt isn’t built to play from behind like some of the other top teams in the country. 
Hacking and Whacking Once Again 
If Vanderbilt’s had one Achilles’ heel entering Saturday’s game, it’s been its propensity to get into foul trouble. AK Okereke picked up three early fouls against Oklahoma, forcing freshman Jayden Leverett into the game almost immediately. Leverett struggled with the assignment, surrendering an early and-one and being subbed out after two minutes. The result was forcing an undersized McGlockton back into center position, where he was outsized by the Sooners’ Mohamed Wague and Tae Davis by several inches. In an already very-thin backcourt, Mike James picked up three first-half fouls himself, putting more pressure on Tanner to run the show himself. Both Okereke and James ended up fouling out of the game in the second half despite playing just 33 combined minutes. Continuing to get players in early foul trouble is putting pressure on the rest of Vanderbilt’s rotation to play conservative and not risk stockpiling fouls of their own. 
A Frankie Collins Update 
Frankie Collins was cleared to return to basketball activities last week after he suffered a meniscus  injury seven weeks ago, but he remained out on Saturday against Oklahoma. Byington said Collins has “got to push himself,” last weekend, and it appears he hasn’t done enough to get back onto the court just yet. Collins wasn’t on the court for pregame warmups but was sitting on Vanderbilt’s bench during the game.   
"It's hard to give a timetable," Byington said after today's loss. "I wish it was closer."
BREAKING: Mark Byington says Frankie Collins has been medically cleared to play. pic.twitter.com/aTOXvDfwt4
It’s a Bad Loss — but it Doesn’t Need to be Season-defining 
There’s no need to beat around the bush here — this was a terrible Quad 3 loss for Vanderbilt. But the Commodores still sit at an SEC-best 19-4, and its undefeated nonconference slate gave them enough wiggle room for a loss like this. Now tied with Missouri at 6-4 for the fifth-best record in SEC play, Byington’s squad will have a quick turnaround and travel to Auburn looking for a bounce back win on Tuesday.  
With the return of Collins and Miles potentially on the horizon, it’s not time to hit the panic button just yet — how the Commodores rebound will be very telling. 
Dylan Tovitz is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, originally from Livingston, New Jersey. In addition to writing for Vanderbilt on SI, he serves as a deputy sports editor for the Vanderbilt Hustler and co-produces and hosts ‘Dores Unlocked, a weekly video show about Commodore sports. Outside the newsroom, he is a campus tour guide and an avid New York sports fan with a particular passion for baseball. He also enjoys listening to country and classic rock music and staying active through tennis and baseball.
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