Vanderbilt’s Defensive Effort Helps Lead to Rivalry Road Win – Sports Illustrated

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – When Vanderbilt fell to its in-state rival Tennessee in Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 21, there was a sense of disappointment among the players. Vanderbilt knew it had the capability of beating the Volunteers, it just needed to make the plays to do so. The Commodores knew it would not be easy, but they also knew they had one more crack at splitting the season series.
“The best thing about it is that we’re gonna play them soon,” Vanderbilt forward AK Okereke said after Vanderbilt’s first match up against Tennessee.
Saturday, that second chance came. And Vanderbilt did not let it go to waste in its 86-82 win over the Volunteers.
It was not perhaps the most explosive game offensively for Vanderbilt, but it was efficient. Rather, it was Vanderbilt’s defense that led the way and helped lead it to what was the Commodores’ best win of the season.
It all started in the first half. Not only did Vandebilt hold Tennessee to just 22 points in the first half, but it was how Vanderbilt was able to do it. Vanderbilt held Tennessee to just 9-for-28 from the floor and just 17 percent from three-point range.
On top of that, Vanderbilt took the ball away nine times in the first half. The Commodore dynamic back court duo of Duke Miles and Tyler Tanner were a major reason for the incredible start on defense, combining for five steals.
Tennessee did make a run in the second half, taking a 17-point Vanderbilt lead down to four by the end of the game. But the damage was already done. Vanderbilt’s start on defense was too much for its rival to overcome and the Commodores came away with a win.
Upon preparation, Vanderbilt felt more prepared going into Saturday because it had already seen Tennessee. Because of that, film study was a little easier.
“I think it was a bit easy just because we had the last game to really lock in and really see where we made the mistakes. So, we went over a bunch of film from the previous game and we played things up,” Okereke said. “I think just being able to have that previous game of the experience, you know who these guys are, what their personality is and their tendencies.”
So what was the difference between Saturday and February’s matchup?
“I just thought we responded to personnel better and the style of the game. I mean, this is the most physical game you’re going to play. Every day they make it tough on you, so you have to just hold your ground,” Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington said.
One of those personnel differences was how Vanderbilt defended against Tennessee’s leading-scorer Ja’Kobi Gillespie. In the last meeting, Gillespie had 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting while hitting three threes. While Gillespie still did get to 17 points Saturday, it was in a far less efficient manner.
Gillespie was held to just 5-for-22 from the floor and 1-for-11 from beyond the arc. Fourteen of those points occurred in the second half as Tennessee was trying to make its final push. But Vanderbilt’s performance on Gillespie played a big role in the game. One of the players that Byington credited was freshman Chandler Bing’s defender on Gillespie.
“He’s such a good player. If you make a mistake, it’s going to cost you. We just wanted to try and play as well as we could without making mistakes," Byington said on the challenge Gillespie poses to defenses. "He [Bing] guarded Gillespie for most of the night. I thought his defense was really good."
While it was not perfect, it was perhaps Vanderbilt’s best or most complete defensive performance since Vanderbilt’s win over Kentucky on Jan. 27. Going forward into the postseason, Vanderbilt will look to match other teams’ physicality and continue to play tough defense. 
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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