Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball, behind its best home crowd of the year and a sold-out student section, fell 80-68 at the hands of No. 1 Auburn in a back-and-forth primetime clash on Feb. 11. The game wasn’t pretty, as the Commodores fell into a 15-0 hole early on and had to claw their way back into the game through gritty play.
They managed to make it a two-point game at halftime and even took a 45-42 lead in the second half, but the Tigers’ size, physicality and 3-point prowess were too much for Vanderbilt to handle.
Let’s break down what this loss means for the ‘Dores.
Props to the “point guards”
Okay, not all the point guards. Just the 6’7 and 6’8 ones named Devin McGlockton and Jaylen Carey. The box score, especially towards the end of the game, may not give those two the credit they deserve, but they are truly the heart and soul of this team.
The duo ran out of steam towards the end of the second half but did an exceptional job guarding Johni Broome, arguably the nation’s top player, for the majority of the game. Broome scored just 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting in the first half and didn’t connect on a single triple (a far cry from his 30% conversion rate this year) all night.
“I feel like overall, we did a good job on him,” McGlockton said. “I don’t think he shot the best percentage.”
Head coach Mark Byington spoke on the challenge that is playing Auburn and how physically tested Vanderbilt was.
“We looked gas in the second half,” Byington said. “They pounded the ball inside and they executed and they got the shot they wanted.”
Carey and McGlockton weren’t expected to play center for Vanderbilt this year, but have done commendable work on the glass and in the paint. Vanderbilt actually outrebounded Auburn, 37-29, despite the loss. A lot of that credit should go to McGlockton, who grabbed 13 total boards (5 offensive). Without those two’s long arms and exceptional motors, Vanderbilt would be far, far removed from any Bracketology or NCAA Tournament discussion.
The streakiest group in the SEC?
Fans now have a pretty good idea of Vanderbilt’s strengths and weaknesses now that it’s 24 games into the season, and one stands above all else. Forgot about a lack of center or an overall undersized roster one through five — Vanderbilt plays some of the streakiest basketball I’ve ever seen.
The team will play three to six minutes of the best basketball fans have seen since the Shan Foster era before another lull — oftentimes longer than six minutes — that leaves many scratching their heads. Low-percentage shots, turnovers and missed defense rotations leave the Commodores vulnerable to opposing scoring runs, and Auburn capitalized on that. The Tigers’ 15-0 run to start the game and 9-0 run to recapture the lead in the second half embody that better than any game this season.
“We got the shots we wanted,” McGlockton said. “We can’t win when we shoot like that. We’ve got to improve.”
Forget about the incredible, electrifying moments: Vanderbilt needs to find a way to limit its opponents’ runs. It won’t be able to win any of its daunting, ranked road games until it does.
Wild zebras
I hope I don’t get fined for this section.
I get it — officiating a game is a nearly impossible task to do perfectly. There are simply too many moving players and pieces to get everything right all the time, and that’s why there are three refs on the court during games. That said, this game was not officiated well at all, and it went both ways.
The officials missed three out-of-bounds calls in the first half — two on Auburn and one on Vanderbilt — and failed to call a consistent game all evening. It has become a common theme during all SEC games this winter; the refs will let both sides play through contact in the first half and then take over down the stretch and make significantly more calls at the end of games.
Many of these calls are reasonable — there was a lot of contact on drives throughout the contest. But the refs need to be consistent across both halves.
Vanderbilt can play with any team, anywhere
The Commodores’ losses to No. 3 Florida and No. 1 Auburn, while they might have been in the double digits, speak to their ability to play with anyone. The Gators and Tigers are two of the best teams in the SEC — and the country — and Vanderbilt stuck around despite adversity.
“We’re playing Florida, and then we’re winning in the second half. We’re playing this to win in the second half. We’re not that far away,” Byington said. “We can play with them and we’ve got to just look at everything in front of us.”
He’s right: Vanderbilt was within single digits in the waning moments in Gainesville and held a three-point, second-half lead against the No. 1 team in the country before it ran out of steam. This win won’t do the Black and Gold’s postseason hopes any favors, but it won’t hurt them either.
This wasn’t a matchup that Byington and Co. were expected to win — they were 9.5-point underdogs, after all — but they once again hung around and showed what they’re capable of. It doesn’t matter that the final box score has an “L” next to it — this team can do big things.
They’ll certainly have another opportunity to show they can hang with the best of the best on the road against No. 5 Tennessee this weekend.
