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Everyone loves a trilogy. And in the teams’ third matchup of the year, Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball started its postseason the same way it finished the regular season: with a win over rival Tennessee.
The Commodores entered the contest with a record of 24-7 and ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll. Their 11-7 mark in SEC play was good enough to earn them the No. 4 overall seed in the SEC Tournament, which came with a double-bye in the bracket.
Vanderbilt’s defeat of Tennessee to end the regular season was crucial to earn its seeding, and the Volunteers, who had to play an extra game due to that loss, came into the afternoon with a chip on their shoulder. The Commodores were also motivated, though, to rewrite history, as their rivals had won five straight conference tournament games against them, with a 9-1 all-time record in men’s basketball postseason play.
This game was certainly a tougher test for head coach Mark Byington’s squad than the last matchup in Knoxville, as Tennessee star freshman Nate Ament was back from injury, but the Commodores were able to contain the projected lottery pick en route to victory.
Now, Vanderbilt looks to have much more basketball to play this season. And, for the rest of the SEC Tournament and against whomever they draw in the NCAA Tournament, there is a lot to be learned from this postseason edition of the “Whiskey Bowl.”
The Duke of Tennessee
Sixth-year guard Duke Miles was Vanderbilt’s best offensive player to begin the season. The transfer from Oklahoma breached the 20-point mark six times before suffering from a lingering knee injury. On Jan. 28, he had surgery, leaving him out for almost a month.
Miles came back for the Commodores’ first showdown with the Volunteers on Feb. 21, but was not the same player as before — shooting just 33.9% from the field in the final five games of the regular season.
Against Tennessee in Bridgestone, though, “the Duke” looked like the scoring machine he was pre-injury. Miles had a season-high 30 points on 11-of-14 shooting, delivering clutch buckets for the entire game — knocking down four 3-pointers and attacking the rim with ferocity.
Miles’ defense was also extremely impactful, as he had three steals that each led to fast-break opportunities. His full-court vision during those sequences was on full display, as he had two assists to Tyler Tanner in two-on-one sets as well as a game-sealing lob to Jalen Washington on a break.
The energy that Miles brings on both sides of the ball was crucial to Vanderbilt’s win and will continue to be important for the rest of the postseason.
On the glass
The SEC Tournament may not have had the troubles of a glass court like the Big 12, but Vanderbilt struggled mightily on the glass on Friday.
While the Commodores won the basketball game, they were dominated on the boards, getting out-rebounded 46-34. Tennessee had an absurd 23 offensive rebounds, as their towering frontcourt of Felix Okpara, Jaylen Carey and J.P. Estrella bodied the Black and Gold in the paint all day.
Vanderbilt did a good job of contesting second-chance opportunities, forcing the Volunteers to go just 10-for-17 on putback attempts. The ‘Dores also fouled promptly in many of these situations, which yielded big dividends as their opponents shot just 61.5% from the free throw line.
However, down the stretch, Ament grabbed board after board and made 10 of his 12 foul shot attempts. The Commodores’ next opponent, Florida, is the second-best offensive rebounding team in the country, and Gator center Rueben Chineylu is the nation’s best individual board-man, grabbing 11.7 per game.
For Byington’s team to continue its SEC Tournament run, it must do a better job of boxing out and getting loose balls.
The Commodore state
In their victory, the Commodores have joined the school’s women’s basketball and baseball teams in having spoiled Tennessee’s SEC Tournament in the past year. These wins are not only postseason success for the athletic department on the West End, but they also signify how Vanderbilt is continuing to prove itself as a more than worthy adversary to the school in Knoxville.
More than that, Vanderbilt students are treating matchups with Tennessee with extreme intensity — as the Black and Gold student section in Bridgestone was loud and disruptive the entire game. Especially when the former Commodore Carey went to the free throw line, the crowd was so raucous it caused the former-Commodore to miss all four of his free throw attempts.
When exiting the stadium, though, Vanderbilt fans were not celebrating the victory as an upset, but something they expected when buying tickets to the game. These changes in mindset are helping the Vanderbilt-Tennessee series to become one of the SEC’s best for any sport it is being played in.
The Commodores will play tomorrow in the SEC Tournament semifinals against No. 1 seed Florida at 12 p.m. CDT in Bridgestone Arena.
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Marcus McDuffie • Mar 13, 2026 at 7:33 pm CDT
Great article, Eli.
