What Vanderbilt Basketball’s Offensive Night Versus Memphis Means for the Season – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE — There were a number of examples of great offensive shotmaking from Vanderbilt basketball you could choose from to represent how great of a night Tuesday was for the Commodores.
From Ace Glass’ offensive explosion on his various three-pointers to Berke Buyuktuncel’s ability to stretch the floor and hit from downtown to Tyler Tanner’s drives to the basket and Bangot Dak’s showcasing his scoring capability in the paint, it was a team effort for Vandebilt in its 105-81 win over Memphis.
As a team, Vanderbilt shot 57% from the floor and hit 15 of its 32 three-pointer attempts. And maybe the most important stat that Glass notably pointed out in the postgame press conference was Vanderbilt had 20 assists as a team on 36 made shots.
Vanderbilt moved the ball effectively all night. It was no accident, either. Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington talked about how his game plan led to his team’s offensive output.
“The first couple games, I just thought we did too much individually. And the ball really moved tonight and it found the open,” Byington said. “It was the threes, it was the layups, it was our shot quality.”
It felt like every time Vanderbilt moved the ball throughout the game, there was always someone inevitably open by the end of the possession. Whether that is a byproduct of Memphis’ defensive structure or the various potent options Vanderbilt has on offense, the Commodores were flowing on the offensive end of the floor.
The offense Vanderbilt put on display Tuesday was the type of offense Byington wants to see his team run every game. It was the most complete game the Commodores have had on the offensive end of the floor through three games.
Perhaps the most encouraging part of it all was that it was on a night where point guard Tyler Tanner did not bring his best in terms of shooting the ball. Tanner finished with 17 on 8-for-14 shooting, but only made one of his six three-point attempted.
Though Tanner was not on his A-game, other guys like Ace Glass stepped up. The offensive production was a result of Byington’s guys being bought into the game plan.
“It was great to see multiple guys buy into the game plan and see the rewards of buying into the game plan. So, I’m hoping it’s a breakthrough,” Byington said.
The way Vanderbilt moved the ball around showed that the Commodores are already starting to build some effective chemistry. By the looks of it against Memphis, Vanderbilt’s guys seem to have a significant amount of trust with each other.
There is a long way to go, but for Vanderbilt to bounce back from what was a sloppy offensive game against Wake Forest and have a dominating offensive output against Memphis this early in the season is something to note.
Glass would agree with that sentiment. The way Vanderbilt shot the ball Tuesday is meaningful in itself. But what it does for the team’s confidence going forward is something more valuable in the bigger picture.
“Guys are finding each other. We believe in each other, we’re building that chemistry. We’re 3-0, so we’re just going to keep building on that. We just keep believing in each other and trusting each other,” Glass said.
Byington knows that the kind of shooting night his team had against Memphis is not going to happen very often. After all, 57% shooting as a team is hard to come by in one game. The roster as a whole is young, but poses multiple threats to opponents.
Not every game is going to be as great as it was Tuesday. There will be games where the Commodores have a tough time shooting the ball and may even go on tough stretches as an offense.
But if Byington’s team follows the game plan he wants to see, tonight’s game could be closer to the norm.
“We’re going to go through some growing pains. So they might forget by tomorrow what made it successful today, but we wanted to make sure to try to remind them,” Byington said.
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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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