No. 24 Vanderbilt Survives Against No. 23 Tennessee in 86-82 Win in Final SEC Regular Season Game

Jacob Perrine
Vanderbilt's Jalen Washington (13) dunks the ball during a men’s college basketball game between the Tennessee Vols and Vanderbilt Commodores.

Whenever two bitter in-state rivals match up, you can expect the game to be a nail-biter, and that’s exactly what it was between the 24th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores and the 23rd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville on Saturday. This win by Vanderbilt also marked the first time since 2017 that the Commodores have won on the Volunteers’ home court.

Vanderbilt Leads Wire to Wire in Win on the Road

It’s hard to walk into enemy territory and control the game right from the jump, but the Commodores were able to accomplish that feat and then some in the win. Vanderbilt would lead for the entire game, as they never relinquished their lead and even increased it to 17-points at one point in the second half today. Much of the reason for that was due to the Commodores’ impressive offense, as they shot 53% from the field in the win.

The majority of the Commodore’s scoring came from star guard Tyler Tanner, who had a near-perfect offensive outing against the Volunteers on Saturday. Vanderbilt’s leading scorer would score 25 points on 7 for 9 shooting from the field, as he accounted for over a quarter of the Commodores’ scoring. Tanner has put together a fantastic sophomore season in Nashville, as he’s averaging 19 points per contest on 49% shooting from the field. Tanner’s performance this season will, in all likelihood, earn him All-SEC honors deservedly.

Despite leading for the entire game, the Commodores still had to fight for the win in the final minute, as the Volunteers made a late rally to make the game interesting. Thankfully for Vanderbilt, the free-throw line was very much kind to them in the win. The Commodores would shoot 27 of 32 from the free-throw line, which was good for 84% for the game. Vanderbilt would make 9 of 10 attempts from the charity stripe in the final 1:15 of regulation to seal the win.

Tennessee’s Offense Can’t Find Traction in Loss on Senior Day

Although the Volunteers had the luxury of having a pumped-up home crowd for senior day in their final game of the SEC regular season, their offense left a lot to be desired. Tennessee would shoot just 44% from the field and 25% from the three-point line in the loss. Much of the offensive struggles for Tennessee can be attributed to the absence of star freshman Nate Ament, who missed his second straight game due to a leg injury he suffered on February 28 against No. 16 Alabama.

With Ament still out, the Volunteers had to look elsewhere for offensive production and got a mixed bag from a few different players in the loss. Tennessee got a positive performance from both J.P. Estrella and Amari Evans, with Estrella scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds off the bench, and Evans scoring a team-high 24 points in the game. Both players played a crucial role in the Volunteers’ late rally on Saturday.

The Volunteers would not get the same high-quality play from their senior guard in Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who struggled mightily shooting from the perimeter in the loss. Although Gillespie dropped 17 points in the game, he would end the day shooting just 5 for 22 from the field and 1 for 11 from beyond the arc. The Volunteers would have only three players score in double digits in the loss.

Tennessee Loses Out on Double Bye in SEC Tournament

There was quite a bit riding on this in-state rivalry game other than just school pride, as both teams had a chance to notch a bye for the SEC tournament next week. For Tennessee, although the loss spoils their chance at securing a double bye next week, they’ll still receive a first-round bye due to their current position in the SEC standings.

For Vanderbilt, their hopes of getting a double bye are still alive and well following this win over the Volunteers. The Commodores will have to get a little bit of help from the 5th-ranked Florida Gators, as Vanderbilt will need them to beat Kentucky in their final game today to help gift them the final double bye for the SEC tournament. The Gators are currently leading Kentucky 49 to 32 at the halftime break in Lexington at the time of this article being published.