Men’s Basketball: Three takeaways from Vanderbilt’s Friday night victory over Prairie View A&M – The Vanderbilt Hustler

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On a cold November evening, the No.22 ranked Commodores (4-0, 0-0 SEC) took down the Prairie View A&M Panthers (2-3, 0-0 SWAC) 89-62, behind a 19-point performance from Ace Glass. Vanderbilt built upon their momentum from their Tuesday night victory over the Memphis Tigers, where the Commodores put up 105 points. After a slow start to the game, the Black and Gold ended the first half on a 27-6 run, and didn’t stop there. After starting a dunk frenzy in Memorial, the Commodores held it together in the second half to secure the victory.
As more power four opponents lie ahead on the Commodores’ schedule, Vanderbilt will have to continue to develop their identity, and fix scoring slumps that have hurt them thus far. With that being said, let’s look at three takeaways from Vanderbilts Friday night scoring frenzy.
Not in my house
Coming into the season, head coach Mark Byington put extra emphasis on having a stronger defensive unit, which shined through Memorial Gymnasium tonight. The team combined for a total of 10 steals along with 5 total blocks, and held the Panthers to just 17 first half points despite a slow start. Vanderbilt, however, was outscored 45-43 in the second half, due to a consistent scoring sheet from the Panthers. 
Despite this, Tyler Tanner put on another great defensive masterclass, showing off yet another thing that makes him one of the best guards in the nation. Along with 14 points in 28 minutes of play, Tanner had 5 total steals and a block to go along with it, coming in critical moments when the Commodores needed to break a scoring drought. 
Vanderbilt’s front court also performed well, playing great prevent defense in the paint, and forcing multiple shot clock violations for the fourth game in a row. 
While the first 12 minutes of the ballgame were noted a weak from Byington, the Commodores did prevent Prairie View A&M from running up the score, which will be a valuable skill if Vanderbilt finds themselves in scoring slumps going forward this season. 
Transfer portal triumphs 
I’ve talked about it before in Vanderbilts early season matchups, but Byington is looking at another successful year in recruiting talent from the transfer portal. While this team only consists of two returning players, the Commodores transfer portal additions proved their talent yet again. While Glass led the scoring for the Black and Gold, Missouri transfer T.O. Barrett also continues to get more comfortable, coming off a preseason injury that limited his minutes early on. 
For a team of so many new faces, they look as comfortable playing with each other as a veteran squad would, with multiple passing sets on offense that threw the Panthers off of their man-to-man scheme. After seeing a lot of isolation plays last season, it is refreshing to see a team that understands their chemistry, and plays unselfish basketball. 
One play in particular Vanderbilt relied heavily on during offensive possessions was backdoor baseline cuts to Tanner, which proved successful on multiple occasions. Most of these plays were set up by Auburn transfer Sebastian Williams-Adams, who continues to make his presence known.
Silly shots?
One of Byington’s main concerns, as well as fans of the Black and Gold, was how much this team would shoot the three. While at times, it’s been the formula to run teams out of the gym, cold streaks are kryptonite for this team. 
Tonight, Vanderbilt shot 57% from the field (34-60) as well as 29% from three (6-21), but the box score doesn’t always paint the full picture. Many concerns can be drawn from their shot selection in itself, where the Commodores took many threes early on in their possession, leading to bad misses off of the front of the rim in most cases. 
Yes, the Commodores did put up 89 points, and the stat sheet favored them heavily, but something just felt off about certain spurts for the Commodores. Allowing 45 second-half points is definitely a negative takeaway, especially when your opponent is shooting 25% (2-8) from three. Yes, a 27-point victory is still a large-margin win, but Byington will look to clean a lot up with his squad as more difficult challenges approach. 
Vanderbilt will face Eastern Illinois at home Tuesday, Nov. 17th, at 7:00 p.m. CDT at Memorial Gymnasium.
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