What a difference one week makes. Eight days ago, Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball was picking up the pieces of its 82-61 loss to then-No. 17 Kentucky. After trailing by just one point at halftime, the Commodores limped to the finish line in yet another second-half collapse. Head coach Mark Byington and Co. were precariously teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble while searching for another marquee victory.
Then, Vanderbilt reeled off back-to-back ranked wins — a thrilling home victory against then-No. 24 Ole Miss (77-72) and a season-defining road win over No. 12 Texas A&M (86-84). The Commodores got their long-awaited signature road win and have all but clinched their spot in the Big Dance. Here’s what has changed.
Secondary scorers are finally emerging
All season, Vanderbilt has desperately needed its defensive trio of Chris Manon, Tyler Tanner and MJ Collins Jr. to contribute on the offensive end of the floor. They are all terrific defensive players but have consistently dragged down the Commodores’ offense. Despite being called on to provide spacing, they are all shooting sub-30% from 3-point range and have struggled to finish in the paint. However, in the past two games, the trio has answered the call.
Against Ole Miss, Manon exploded for a season-high 16 points. He shot 2-for-2 from deep, 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. He also saved his best for last. In the waning moments of the game, the 6’5 guard went on a 5-0 run by himself to carry Vanderbilt to victory. Without Manon’s contributions, the Commodores would have likely lost that game.
Against Texas A&M, it was Collins who went off for a season-high 16 points. He consistently penetrated Texas A&M’s usually stifling defense, creating chaos and getting to the free throw line at will. He wasn’t very efficient from the charity stripe (7-of-11) but got there with enough volume to still make a sizable impact. Furthermore, Tanner contributed nine points, which was tied for his most in a conference game this year. As stars Jason Edwards, Devin McGlockton and Jaylen Carey sat on the bench with foul trouble down the stretch, Collins and Tanner kept the Commodores’ offense ticking. For the West End faithful, it was a beautiful sight to behold. If this trio can sustain their recent level of offensive play, Vanderbilt can play with anyone.
Ride the hot hand (and bench the cold ones)
Byington’s inconsistent rotations have been questioned by Commodore fans all year. Many Commodore fans have worried that he was preventing his players from getting into a rhythm by cycling them every few minutes — this season, no Vanderbilt player averaged more than 25.6 minutes per game while nine players averaged more than 16.8 minutes per game. In the past two games, with Vanderbilt’s season on the line, Byington adapted his strategy. Instead of playing everybody in the rotation equally, he has let his hottest guys ride it out while sitting players who are having off nights. It’s time to give the budding superstar coach his flowers — this shift in strategy has been brilliant.
When Vanderbilt faced Ole Miss, the Rebels’ Malik Dia caught fire. Dia was consistently beating Carey (who was having an off night on defense) while struggling more with his matchups against McGlockton.
If this were earlier in the season, Carey and McGlockton would have split minutes in crunch time. Instead, Byington gave the lion’s share of minutes to the guy that was having the better night — McGlockton played 34 total minutes and 19 second-half minutes while Carey only played 16 total minutes and 6 in the second half. McGlockton finished the game plus-11, while Carey was minus-12. Byington’s adjustment might have won his team a key game.
Against Texas A&M, the first-year coach made an even bolder decision. AJ Hoggard, whom many expected to be the best player on the team, played a poor first half. In 11 minutes, the fifth-year transfer shot 0-for-3, turned the ball over twice and was getting beat on defense. At halftime, Byington made a choice that seemed impossible even one week ago — he played Hoggard for only four minutes in the second half. Instead, he gave his second-half minutes to Nickel (17) and Collins (14). Nickel nailed three 3-pointers and Collins scored 12 of his 16 points in this period. Without benching Hoggard, that doesn’t happen.
Starting fast
Vanderbilt’s inability to hold a lead has been very well-documented this season. However, a key part of the equation is often overlooked — the Commodores are also fantastic at building early leads. They have led at halftime in 8 of their last 12 games, including games against No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Tennessee (twice), No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 17 Kentucky.
Early in the season, this trend could be attributed to teams needing an adjustment period against Byington’s scheme. However, with plenty of film on tape, that excuse can no longer be used. When Vanderbilt played No. 5 Tennessee for the second time this season, it held a commanding 44-31 halftime lead. There’s no way around it — Vanderbilt is legitimately good at building early leads.
These fast starts have built enough cushion to sustain the inevitable mid-game lull. Against Ole Miss, Vanderbilt needed every point of its 19-point first-half lead to fight off the Rebels’ ferocious comeback attempt. In the win against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt’s 11-point first-half cushion proved very valuable when the Aggies’ C.J. Wilcher got red-hot from beyond the arc. As the madness of March inches closer, this is a fantastic trait to have. If Vanderbilt can continue jumping out to big leads, its second-half woes might not even matter.
The Commodores are not technically in the NCAA Tournament yet — they likely need one more regular-season win to seal the deal. Regardless, this past week has been nothing short of extraordinary. If Vanderbilt can continue to get contributions from its secondary scorers, ride its hot hands and start fast, the nation better watch out. No one wants to face this version of the Commodores in March.
Vanderbilt will look to continue its momentum as it takes on the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Gymnasium on March 1 at 5 p.m. CST.
