Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball hosted its first exhibition game of the season against Virginia on Thursday, Oct. 16. The game was contested in a NBA-style fashion, with four 12-minute quarters. The score reset after two quarters, practically marking two 24-minute games.
Vanderbilt won the first two quarters, 44-41, as head coach Mark Byington experimented with several different lineups. The Commodores also took the second two quarters, 51-46.
While just an exhibition, there are several key things to take away from Vanderbilt’s first unofficial game of the 2025-26 season.
Tyler Tanner time
Tyler Tanner had an exceptional freshman campaign in the 2024-25 season, averaging 5.7 points per game while being the only player in the country to record over 50 assists, 50 steals and less than 15 turnovers.
He doesn’t seem to have skipped a beat coming into the 2025-26 season. The sophomore guard appears to have taken a jump this summer, learning to drive the ball more effectively and hit open jumpers. Tanner earned valuable experience this summer as he attended the 2025 USA Basketball men’s U19 national team training camp in June. One of just 33 participants, he clearly learned a thing or two from some of the brightest up and coming stars in basketball.
The Nashville native put up 13 points in the first two quarters and 7 in the final two quarters. While he lit up the stat sheet, he also appeared more confident. In the 2024-25 season, he primarily acted as a perimeter shooting threat. Against Virginia, he consistently drove into the lane for buckets while maintaining his touch from deep. Tanner averaged the most minutes throughout the exhibition, showing Byington’s faith in him as one of Vanderbilt’s leading guards.
“You can just see the aggressiveness with him with the ball,” Byington said postgame. “Last year, I think he played sometimes not to make mistakes. Obviously, I trusted him a lot last year, he played a ton as a freshman. But this year, we live with some mistakes sometimes and let him be aggressive.”
It is notable that point guard Frankie Collins was on restricted minutes against the Cavaliers, allowing Tanner to take the bulk of the responsibilities running point. Still, Byington stated that he expects both to play on the court at the same time in the future, creating one of the better backcourts in the SEC.
Big time transfers
Vanderbilt heavily relied on the transfer portal to bolster its lineup this offseason. Byington’s investment in the portal paid off on Thursday night, as several new players made a significant impact. Particularly, Washington transfer Tyler Harris and Oklahoma transfer Duke Miles played exceptionally well, racking up 20 points each on the night, respectively. Miles had great touch from the outside and showed the physicality to drive into the lane. Harris, a leaner and taller guard, is a fantastic ball handler and showed an elite midrange game. Both showed explosivity and shot-making ability with the ball in their hands. Miles was overshadowed by lottery pick Jeremiah Fears last year at Oklahoma, but it seems he’ll play a much larger role on Byington’s squad.
Miles was a late addition to the program this offseason, and Byington was thrilled with what he saw out of the graduate guard on Thursday.
“[Miles] is extremely smart, and so it just makes things easier for me,” Byington said. “[He] makes me sleep better at night. I could trust the ball in his hands. I thought he made really good decisions out there for the team, and he knows what we’re doing already.”
Miles and Washington navigated the game with ease, relying on their experience with other Power Four programs to succeed against the Cavaliers. Expect them to be two of the biggest impact transfers this winter.
Size in the paint
The one thing Vanderbilt lacked last season was size. Byington even harped on these challenges at SEC Media Days last week.
“You saw some things in the league that were weaknesses of ours [last season],” Byington said on Oct. 14. “We had to get bigger. I thought sometimes in the second half we wore down because we just weren’t as big as some teams.”
Byington earned some big commitments in the offseason to bolster his team’s length. UNC transfer Jalen Washington seemed to play the biggest role against Virginia, logging solid minutes in Vanderbilt’s five spot. It also allowed Devin McGlockton, who played as the five at many points last season, to play at the four when both were on the court. Washington got several putbacks around the rim and successfully rebounded the ball, on both offense and defense, on several occasions. The added size certainly helped Vanderbilt get two wins over the Cavaliers. That said, Washington and McGlockton struggled to stop Virginia’s bigs in the paint at times, getting beaten defensively under pressure.
Washington looked tired in the first two quarters but did a nice job gathering himself in the second two quarters. Virginia has six players over 6’9” on its roster, so Washington had his work cut out for him in the paint. He held his own, though, putting up eight points and eight boards on the night.
The Commodores have another exhibition game against UAB on Thursday, Oct. 23. Vanderbilt’s first official game of the season is against Lipscomb on Nov. 3.
