"It’s Probably Going to Haunt me Forever," Inside Tyler Tanner's Gut-Wrenching Miss At The Buzzer – Sports Illustrated

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OKLAHOMA CITY—Only a few moments had passed since Tyler Tanner experienced the heartbreak of his life when he popped out from the locker room, plopped down in a chair and shook his head in pure, unadulterated disbelief.
Tanner was brave enough to distribute a hug to a Vanderbilt manager as he entered the eerily silent hallway, but human nature trumped any desire for Tanner to put on a brave face. Seeing a seemingly immortal like Tanner in such a catastrophic state was jarring, it was heartbreaking. Nobody should’ve expected anything different after a moment like Tanner just endured, though. 
Classic heroism awaited Tanner as he fired up a halfcourt heave with 2.2 seconds to go in Vanderbilt’s eventual NCAA Tournament loss to Nebraska. The shot was unlikely enough that the possibility of it falling appeared all but impossible, then it clicked. As Tanner’s heave was descending, everyone in the sold-out PayCom Center appeared to figure out at the same time that this thing had a chance. At the end of its descent, the bright orange Wilson basketball provided the crowd with a touch of confirmation bias as it bounced off the backboard according to Tanner’s plan and hit the front rim before shooting towards the back. 
The ghost of Tanner’s missed buzzer beater against Missouri that made an effort to cloud Tanner’s special season was dancing in the air as the eerie similarity of the two shots sunk in. Tanner made his effort to thwart the past demons that surrounded his season, but the basketball gods are often unkind. In this case they had something against Tanner. 
After a bounce off the back rim, Tanner’s shot fell to the floor. 
And as if Tanner was acting in accordance with the ball, he also did. The only difference; the ball can’t feel agony or heartbreak. Tanner can. Best believe he’s feeling that as he boards the plane out of Oklahoma City and heads back to Nashville. During the group media availability Tanner held at his locker, he took a moment as he was seemingly holding back tears. 
“That one, it’s probably going to haunt me forever,” Tanner told Vandy on SI. “I want to just focus on being grateful for how good of a year it was for this team. We made history in a lot of ways. But, I'm definitely gonna end up thinking about this a good amount, just because that was the last play of this season.” 
If Tanner’s postgame walk off the floor in which he held his jersey over his–likely tear-filled face–and was being propped up by Vanderbilt freshman Jaylon Dean-Vines, this cloud likely won’t move for a long time. Tanner’s season is one that cemented him as a Vanderbilt basketball legend, but that’s not how he’s thinking on this grim Saturday night. It may not be how he thinks about all of this for a long time. 
Between the clouds, the second-year leap that is among the best in the country is difficult to see. Tanner’s magical performance in a road win against Tennessee and dominant stretch against McNeese–which won Vanderbilt its first NCAA Tournament game in well over a decade–pale in comparison to the emotions this one will evoke. For a while, that First-Team All-SEC selection and All-American honorable mention will be difficult to fully embrace. 
Instead, all he’ll be able to remember is the Tyler Tanner shot. 
What happened on the blue and orange March Madness-labeled floor in Oklahoma City has already been referred to as one of college basketball’s most iconic misses, and it has all the staples of being one. 
The stakes were as high as they’ve been for this program in a long time with a Sweet 16 berth on the line and inches away from being clinched. It allowed one of college basketball’s best emerging stars an opportunity at a legacy-changing moment and snatched it away. The deceit that the shot authored was as mischievous as it could’ve been. 
“I saw it go up, felt like time stopped. I watched it go up and I thought it was good,” Vanderbilt wing Tyler Nickel told Vandy on SI. “Then it went half in, half out.  it just makes it sting a little bit more.”
When the shot jumped off the rim, the generally-unbreakable Nickel put his hands over his head and crouched down as if he’d just been stabbed in the heart. Vanderbilt big man Devin McGlockton did the same, in an even more demonstrative way. Vanderbilt redshirt guard George Kimble couldn’t help but lay on the floor until he could gain the mental strength to get up. Vanderbilt forward AK Okereke calls it a roller coaster ride of emotions. In the end, though, heartbreak prevailed at the end of the ride. 
Tanner thought it was good. When heartbreak gets its way, though, it’s a reminder that events like March Madness don’t have much care for perceived fate, logic or togetherness. Instead, they’re often cruel and unusual. 
“I just love this team so much,” Tanner said. “This is my favorite team I've probably ever been on. Just thinking about it being over and never playing a game with this exact group of guys, it's just hard."
The moment was particularly chilling in that it represents a bitter end for a few faithful soldiers that bought into Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington’s vision early and got it to this point. That may include Tanner. Vanderbilt’s star guard has played himself into NBA Draft conversations and will have a decision on his hands once this is all over. Tanner says he hasn’t made his mind up yet in regard to whether he’ll return to Vanderbilt or not. 
If that’s how this all ends for Tanner, though, and that moment will be the last that anyone ever sees of him on a basketball court wearing this uniform, it’ll represent injustice’s place in college sports. 
Tanner has been the perfect superstar for this program. He saw it when it was down. He bought into Byington’s vision before nearly anyone else did. He’s embraced Nashville and connected it to Vanderbilt basketball. He’s also as good of a player as this place has seen in recent memory. 
Now, the item on those around Vanderbilt basketball’s agenda has to be making sure that this doesn’t define Tanner’s legacy around these parts. Stay or go, Tanner shouldn’t be remembered for this moment. He should be remembered as a Vanderbilt basketball legend. Maybe he won’t be in some crowds because of what transpired in Oklahoma City, but he should be.
“He's the best player I've ever played with,” McGlockton said. “He has so much upside. Yeah, I know he's upset right now, but, he has much more to do in his career. He's a fantastic player.”
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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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