Starting off the spring semester, the Vanderbilt Men’s and Women’s basketball teams faced some of the top teams in the SEC and the games had us on the edge of our seats. Check out some of our favorite shots below.
Men’s Basketball
Commodore Nation celebrated the men’s basketball victory against No. 15 Arkansas on Jan. 14. After a rocky ending to the first half, Vanderbilt powered through the second half. Despite the ejection of Ezra Manjon and Stackhouse earning a technical foul, the ‘Dores won the game, scoring 97-84.
Having just beaten Arkansas, fans were eager to see Vanderbilt’s performance against No. 4 Alabama the following week. Unfortunately, the Crimson Tide outscored the Commodores 78-66. The team struggled with the absence of Liam Robbinson, who will be out until at least mid-February with a sprained ankle.
The Commodores then traveled to Georgia to face the Bulldogs on Jan. 21 and won 85-82, handing Georgia their first home loss this season.
Back at Memorial, Vanderbilt suffered another home loss against Kentucky on Jan. 24 and were outscored once again, 69-54.
“Probably as disappointed as I’ve been in a postgame since I’ve been here,” head coach Jerry Stackhouse said after the game. “I thought we had selfish play to begin the game, and it bled over to our defense. Everybody was trying to do it on their own.”
Women’s Basketball
The women’s team was faced with some tough games so far and have yet to notch an SEC win. The ‘Dores lost against Tennessee and Arkansas at away games. At Memorial, the team played against the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks and were blown away with a final score of 96-48.
“Obviously, not anywhere close to the result we wanted, but my team knows that I don’t focus on results,” head coach Shea Ralph said after the game. “When you look at what we’ve done over the last few games and our conference, we continue to improve.”
After ending the first half with the Gamecocks leading 45-17, things were looking rough for the Commodores. The gap in the score continued to widen until the final buzzer concluded the game. The losing streak continued against Florida on Jan. 22 with a final score of 55-73. Vanderbilt will host Texas A&M at home on Sunday, Jan. 29.
