Jaylen Carey, Tennessee basketball prepping for return to Vanderbilt – The Daily Beacon

Memorial Magic speared Tennessee basketball the last time it took to West End.
The Vols trailed by 10 points with three minutes to go on Jan. 18, 2025. Tennessee rallied back, and Chaz Lanier took to the free-throw line with an opportunity to tie the game with 2.8 seconds remaining. He split the pair, and Vanderbilt took game one of the regular season series.
Jaylen Carey showed his prowess as a member of the Commodores, posting a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double against Tennessee. Now, the tides have turned. Carey traded in his black and gold for orange and white. He made the move east to Knoxville and has picked up a role that Tennessee depends upon for consistency.
Saturday will be his first trip back to Memorial Gymnasium since the transfer. Carey has been involved in two scuffles this season — against Kentucky on Jan. 17 and Ole Miss on Feb. 3. With emotions heightened, Carey will need to contain them against his former squad.
“I think he will,” head coach Rick Barnes said. “We’ll certainly talk about it, but I think this is the new world that we live in now.”
Consistency is still the No. 1 task Barnes has handed his 6-foot-8, 267-pound big man.
Carey has been a part-time member of Tennessee’s starting rotation. He has appeared in all 26 of the Vols’ games this season, finding the opening lineup three times. Carey averages 18.4 minutes a game with an inefficient 48.8% field goal percentage for a guy who doesn’t often take shots beyond the restricted area.
He sits at the same percentage he shot at Vanderbilt a season ago, taking the same amount of shots per night.
“(Carey) probably played his best game defensively (against Oklahoma),” Barnes said. “He was really doing it. He missed some shots. I thought he let that affect him, and some free throws. But overall, he’s gotten much much better defensively. And again, I thought the last game, he showed that.”
Carey shot 3-for-9 and put up seven points and seven rebounds in the win over Oklahoma, with J.P. Estrella sidelined again with injury. Carey’s defensive spark kept the Sooners’ five men from scoring a single point.
Starter Mohamed Wague fouled out in 10 minutes of play. He attempted just one shot and missed. Kirill Elatontsev and Kai Rogers combined to play 29 minutes off the bench and attempted one missed shot.
“I know he has motivation for every game,” Tennessee guard Ethan Burg said. “I guess this one might be a little extra, but (Carey) always, he always thinks about the team, and he going to do what’s best for the team, and he gonna do his job to his fullest.
“I just know (Carey is) going to come out there and try to be aggressive, try to finish at the rim like he does, and just be efficient for the team. And when (Carey) play good, we play good. He’s one of the guys that I can speak for myself, when I see (Carey) go hard, it makes me want to go hard, too, man, because I know how hard he works, man. He’s always one of the guys that’s first to the court, and last to leave.”
Tennessee will be faced with the task of a No. 19 Vanderbilt (21-5, 8-5 SEC) squad that is coming off a loss. The Commodores started off the season with a 16-0 record before dropping three straight conference games. They have now lost two of the last four SEC games — one-point losses to Oklahoma and Missouri.
At the top of the ascension for Vanderbilt is sophomore guard Tyler Tanner. The Nashville native was one of the more efficient players in the conference in a reserve role last season, but as the lead guard for Mark Byington’s team, Tanner has excelled.
He ranks near the top of the league with 18.6 points and 5.2 assists a night. His 2.8 assists-to-turnover ratio is the third best in the SEC.
Tanner is guiding a Vanderbilt offense that scores 88.1 points per game. Each offensive statistic ranks inside the top 100 in the nation. Barnes attributes that success to how Byington structures his roster around his philosophies.
“He’s got a system, and he believes in it,” Barnes said. “I think one of the big things with this year’s team, I love the improvement of the players that return.”
Tennessee and Vanderbilt tip off at 2 p.m. EST in Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 21.
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