Takeaways From Vanderbilt Basketball's 69-65 Loss To Tennessee – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—It was all up in the air with a minute of game time to play, but when it was over, Tennessee's players were flashing their jerseys and were declaring that this was their house.
Vanderbilt can say a lot of things about this season, but it can't say that it beat Tennessee at home. Here's what to take from that outing.
That doesn’t say a whole lot about Vanderbilt, but it’s gut wrenching
Theorize whatever you will about the potential future of this Vanderbilt team, but it beating Tennessee at home is no longer on the table. That means something within the context of this rivalry. 
This clearly mattered to this Vanderbilt fanbase and this was a chance for it to take back some control of this rivalry, which has gone the other way for a long stretch of time. It could’ve been this group’s day. It wasn’t, though. 
Vanderbilt has to sit with that now. 
The difference; the last minute
Tyler Tanner missed the game-tying shot late. AK Okereke missed a fadeaway a possession or two earlier that would’ve changed this thing. Tyler Nickel missed a rare open one that would’ve swung this one, too. 
Vanderbilt just didn’t do enough down the stretch. 
That’s the story of the day. Vanderbilt looked uniquely human late in the game while Tennessee made all the right plays down the stretch. 
Jaylen Carey has his moment
Carey won’t say it, but there was clearly a little something extra at play here. He always appeared to be trying to be Super Man. When he went up, it looked as if he was doing so with a desire to make it a SportsCenter play. When he screened early, he appeared to be hunting a body on the floor. 
This wasn’t exactly Carey’s magnum opus like he hoped it’d be, though. The Tennessee forward was often caught forcing it, playing outside of Tennessee’s offense and didn’t live up to the standard that he seemingly set for himself. Carey went for just seven points on 2-for-7 shooting, seven rebounds while turning it over two times, picking up three fouls and no assists in 26 minutes. 
His Tennessee team got the win, though. That’s what matters to everyone involved here. 
How about Vanderbilt holding its own on the glass
Very easily could Vanderbilt have gotten pushed around and given Tennessee nearly double the amount of shot attempts that it had like it has in the past against Rick Barnes team, but it didn’t. 
Tennessee was better on the glass as it outrebounded Vanderbilt 39-to-30 in total and 14-to-8 on the offensive glass, but it wasn’t overmatched enough for that to be the difference in the game. Barnes’ team only took five more shots than Vanderbilt did. 
Perhaps that appears to be a moral victory of sorts, but Tennessee is No. 1 in the country in offensive rebounding efficiency. It’s not nearly as strong on the defensive glass, but it has enough physicality–even without JP Estrella to presumably bury Vanderbilt on the glass. 
It didn’t, though, and that may say something positive in regard to the longevity of this Vanderbilt team. 
Tennessee clearly wanted Vanderbilt to operate without Tyler Nickel
Barnes and company clearly had Tyler Nickel at the top of their scouting report in a similar way to how most SEC teams did a season ago when Vanderbilt had less weapons. 
Nickel was seemingly always faceguarded on Saturday afternoon and likely found out quickly that he wouldn’t have many open shots. The Vanderbilt wing went for just three points, was 1-for-8 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range. 
That made Vanderbilt significantly less dangerous offensively. 
Jalen Washington, block party
Here’s the thing that Vanderbilt has in the frontcourt that it didn’t have a season ago; a dynamic shotblocker. 
Washington hasn’t proven to be that throughout the entirety of the season, but he certainly was on Saturday. The Vanderbilt big man went for six blocks and gave Tennessee a legitimately difficult time winning around the rim. He also didn’t get into foul trouble. 
The North Carolina transfer was an unsung hero on Saturday. 
Chandler Bing, welcome to the full-time rotation
Bing had seemingly played himself into some minutes and some trust while Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles was out for an extended period of time, so had Mike James. The level of trust got its biggest test yet on Saturday as Miles returned to the lineup and played 28 minutes, though. 
Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington still appears to be rolling with Bing and James, though. Particularly Bing. 
The Vanderbilt freshman played  second-half minutes, and they were deserved. Bing went for 18 points, was always a pest on the defensive end against Tennessee’s best players and appeared to cement himself in some sort of role moving forward. 
Get ready for a lot of Chandler Bing moving forward.
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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