Takeaways From Vanderbilt's 89-86 Win Over Ole Miss – Sports Illustrated

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OXFORD, MS—Vanderbilt basketball didn't have it on Tuesday, but it didn't matter.
The Commodores left Ole Miss with an 89-86 win that indicated it knows how to win late in games. Here's a few takeaways from that win.
Vanderbilt stole that thing
Within the back tunnel of The Pavillion in Oxford, the amount of Vanderbilt players and staffers had dwindled down significantly since Mark Byington began his postgame press conference seven minutes earlier. 
There appeared to be a race out of Oxford among Vanderbilt’s players and staffers–and while it had to do mostly with their flight, it could’ve had just as much to do with how this team won this game. 
Vanderbilt trailed by as much as 12, trailed for 34:17, missed 12 layups, couldn’t finish possessions on the defensive end, lost its three rotational bigs to foul trouble and had a general sense of sluggishness present all night. Yet, there it was celebrating following an 89-86 overtime victory. 
The best way to describe it? 
“Stole it,” a Vanderbilt staffer said as he left the building.
Tyler Tanner was heroic
That was the Tyler Tanner show on Tuesday night and that’s why Vanderbilt was even competitive with Ole Miss at The Pavillion. He didn’t do it single handedly, but who knows how poorly this would’ve ended without him on the floor. 
Tanner went for 34 points on 11-for-19 shooting, seven assists and five steals on Tuesday night. Whenever Vanderbilt needed a basket to stay in it, Tanner provided it. Whenever it needed a spark, he gave it to keep this group in the game. At the half, Tanner had 14 points while the rest of Vanderbilt’s roster had 19 combined. 
The Vanderbilt guard was the best player on the floor on Tuesday. 
That was Vanderbilt’s worst first half of the season
The Pavillion was essentially lifeless on Tuesday night, and Vanderbilt matched that energy out of the gate. Seriously. 
Before it could blink, it was down 8-3 at the first media timeout. Then, that became 15-3. Vanderbilt eventually allowed it to get to a halftime deficit. Winning on the road is difficult, but it shouldn’t look that difficult for a team with second-weekend aspirations.
Vanderbilt finished the half 2-for-8 on layups, 3-for-10 from 3-point range and trailed for 16:51. For it to do that against this Ole Miss team in a half-empty gym says something about where the level of play has dropped to these days. 
How about this:
Devin McGlockton finished Tuesday with 14 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds. That’s part of the reason Vanderbilt was even in this game. 
Vanderbilt’s rebounding hasn’t come up all that much recently because McGlockton has been elite on the glass in stretches. That’s perhaps the most underrated skill on this Vanderbilt team. 
Who knows where it would be without McGlockton’s excellence on the glass on Tuesday. 
Still waiting on Tyler Nickel and Duke Miles
Vanderbilt really needs those two to be themselves again if it’s going to find a way back into being an elite group, but it hasn’t had either of them at their best since Miles returned from injury. 
There appears to be some adjustment period here for Miles and the rest of Vanderbilt’s roster since Miles’ return to the lineup four games ago. Miles hasn’t exceeded 17 points since his return and hasn’t been all that efficient. 
Nickel’s struggles aren’t necessarily due to Miles’ return, but they’re present. The Vanderbilt sharpshooter hasn’t been himself. 
The respective streaks continued on Tuesday as Miles went for 16 points on 5-for-17 shooting and Nickel scored nine points on 1-for-7. Vanderbilt needs better than that the rest of the way. 
Layups
It appeared for awhile that Vanderbilt would lose this thing because of layups. 
Vanderbilt finished the day 13-for-25 from inside a few feet. It’s never expected to be perfect from around the bucket, particularly against SEC athletes. But, it’s got to be better than that. 
The number looked about as bad in person on Tuesday as it looks on paper. The amount of bunnies that Vanderbilt missed dragged it down significantly and never allowed it to get away from Ole Miss. 
It still won, though. That’s all that matters.
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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