Memphis returns to action on Tuesday after a 2-0 start, and it will face another top 25 team in No. 22 Vanderbilt. The game will be played in Nashville, and the Commodores are 15-3 inside Memorial Gymnasium since the start of last season.
Mark Byington’s team enters the game 2-0 following wins over Bellarmine and Wake Forest, and they moved up two spots in this week’s AP top 25 poll. Vanderbilt started the season at No. 24, but after a 23-point win over the Demon Deacons, it was rewarded with a two-spot increase to No. 22.
While they rank No. 22 in the AP poll, KenPom has the Commodores at No. 7, and the analytic site has them at No. 20 in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 6 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Byington’s team has played great defensively this season, and opposing teams are averaging 49 points through the first two games.
Vanderbilt brought in five transfers during the offseason and added seven freshman, and it has the seventh youngest roster in college basketball with an average age of 19.48. While they added a ton of new pieces, point guard Tyler Tanner returned after testing the NBA Draft waters. Tanner averaged 19.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 steals last season, and he’s currently leading his team in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals.
The guard averages 18.5 points, six rebounds, four assists, 1.5 steals and only one turnover in 29 minutes. He’s shooting 54.2 percent from the field, but he’s making only 25 percent of his three pointers on two attempts per game.
Washington State transfer Ace Glass is averaging 14 points and five rebounds, and he recorded 16 points and seven rebounds in the last game against Wake Forest.
6-foot-3 guard Ant Brown Jr. has been the top freshman this season, and he is averaging 17.5 minutes off the bench through the first two games. Brown was a four-star out of high school, and he’s averaging 10.5 points, two assists and 1.5 rebounds, and he’s shooting 41.7 percent from deep on six attempts per game.
The Commodores also added a pair of SEC transfers in Missouri transfer T.O. Barrett and Auburn transfer Sebastian Williams-Adams. Williams-Adams, a 6-foot-9 forward, has started both games, and he’s averaging 5.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 19.5 minutes.
As a team, Vanderbilt is shooting 48 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep, and it is averaging 83.5 points per game. On the other side, Byington’s team is holding opponents to 36 percent from the field and 23.4 percent from three-point range.
These two teams have met 16 times in program history, and the Commodores lead the series 9-7. While Vanderbilt has an advantage all-time, Memphis has won four of the last five meetings.
This season’s matchup will be played at 6:15 Tuesday night.
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