No. 11 Vanderbilt took on No. 13 Alabama in the first top-15 matchup in Memorial Gymnasium since 1974. The Commodores prevailed over a strong Crimson Tide team, 96-90, to get to 15-0 on the season.
It was a physical and fast game all evening, as both teams came into the matchup in the top 10 in the country in points per game. The game was tied at 43-apiece at halftime, but Vanderbilt was able to create some separation late in the second half to pull off a signature victory. An offensive explosion in the final 10 minutes of the game was enough for the Commodores to skate past a very strong Crimson Tide squad — ranked second in the conference in every analytical ranking system.
The return of starting Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles added some heat to this matchup, as he was sidelined the previous two games with an illness and then an injury. Tyler Tanner, AK Okereke, Devin McGlockton and Tyler Nickel rounded out Vanderbilt’s starting five.
Tanner led the way in terms of scoring for the Commodores, knocking in 29 points as the team’s primary ball-handler while Miles had 19 of his own.
“What a great night. It’ll be a night for memories,” head coach Mark Byington said postgame. “I’ll remember this win just because of all the things that went into it. It was hard. Both teams [were] extremely competitive. I mean, they fought every inch, and we went into the game saying, ‘no lead is safe, and it’s going to be all the way to the end of 40 minutes.'”
First half
Vanderbilt won the tip, and Nickel immediately drew a foul on the offensive end, much to the delight of the strong contingent of Vanderbilt fans in the stadium. The senior went 1-for-2 from the line, putting Vanderbilt on the board with a 1-0 lead.
Miles earned a pivotal steal on defense, and both him and Okereke splashed back-to-back triples to push Vanderbilt’s lead to 7-3 in the early moments of the game. Tanner then hit consecutive layups, igniting Vanderbilt’s crowd into a furious frenzy.
Alabama’s Aden Holloway hit a bucket on the other end before McGlockton cashed in an easy bucket with the assist from Tanner. As the first media timeout arrived, Vanderbilt had a commanding 13-5 lead at the 15:49 mark.
Star Alabama guard Labaron Philon hit a bucket out of the break as Vanderbilt then proceeded to go on a scoring drought for over three minutes. The Crimson Tide clawed their way back into the game with buckets from Philon and Latrell Wrightsell, bringing the score to 15-10 as the second media timeout arrived at 11:35.
Alabama’s Keitenn Bristow and Miles exchanged buckets out of the break, before Miles hit a four-point play as he was fouled on the made triple, creating a huge roar from the Vanderbilt Faithful. The speed of the game was lightning fast, often without the best ball control, as both teams continued to exchange possessions.
Okereke hit a second-chance layup but walked off with a visible limp as he left the game and was tended to by medical staff. Miles then picked the pocket of Philon, getting fouled on the breakaway — the Crimson Tide’s ninth foul of the game — to send him to the line for a one-and-one. As the third media timeout of the game arrived at 7:39, Vanderbilt had a commanding 13-point lead at 30-17.
Alabama broke off a seven-point run out of the timeout, shrinking Vanderbilt’s lead to six points. Miles hit a turnaround jumper to stop the bleeding, followed up by two made free throws to get the score to 34-24. Alabama then proceeded to go on an 8-0 run, capped off by a 3-pointer from Wrightsell to shrink Vanderbilt’s lead to 34-32. Miles made a layup on the offensive end to bring Vanderbilt’s lead to four at the 3:35 mark.
Philon made a huge triple out of the break, giving Alabama its first lead of the night at 37-36. Miles and Okereke made buckets to give the Commodores their lead back, though, and the half ended with Nickel hitting a buzzer-beating layup to tie it up at 43-apiece. Miles finished the half with 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting, a team-high for the Commodores through 30 minutes.
Second half
It was a slow start to the half, as Tanner nailed the lone bucket within the first two minutes of the period. A nice steal from the sophomore resulted in a fast break chance which he couldn’t control to score. Philon then gathered on the other end and earned the bucket, giving Alabama control of the scoreboard again at 46-45.
It was a back-and-forth affair through much of the early minutes of the half, as both teams tried to break away from the other to not much success. Alabama led 48-47 as the first media timeout of the half hit at 15:28.
Okereke hit a big dunk with a foul, sending him to the charity stripe for a shot to bring Alabama’s lead to one. Alabama’s Amari Allen hit the step back jumper before Washington and Tanner hit four consecutive free throws to tie the game up at 54-apiece.
McGlockton hit a tough layup — which once again ignited the crowd — with a foul to give Vanderbilt a three-point lead with 12:25 to go in the half.
Alabama was in major foul trouble for a considerable amount of the second half, as Vanderbilt hit the double bonus with 12 minutes to go. The Commodores used this to their advantage, though, continually getting to the line and sinking free throws.
Washington slammed an alley-oop down which brought energy to Vanderbilt’s sideline. Tanner hit a triple and then an easy layup in transition to get Vanderbilt’s lead to 69-61, its biggest margin since midway through the first half.
Alabama head coach Nate Oats was then issued a technical after being visibly upset with a call on the court. Tanner sunk both free throws and then Mike James hit a 3-pointer to bring Vanderbilt’s lead to 74-63.
Both teams continued to foul at a high rate, as four of Vanderbilt’s five starters had four fouls just halfway through the half. Several made shots from the charity stripe, especially from Washington, Tanner and Allen, brought the score to 77-69 in favor of the Commodores. Tyler Harris finally hit a triple at the 6:26 mark, allowing Vanderbilt to surpass 80 points for the 14th time this season. The Commodores headed to the final media timeout of the half with an 84-75 lead, firmly in control of the game.
A turnaround jumper by Nickel once again showcased his versatility, before Holloway hit a 3-pointer on the other end as the clock ticked down with 2:35 to go. Allen and Nickel exchanged pairs of free throws before Holloway made a pullup jumper to make it 89-82. Tanner then hit two free throws to extend the lead to nine, all but sealing this game for Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide put up a few last-minute fouls, but it wasn’t enough to knock off the red-hot ‘Dores.
Tyler Tanner led the way in terms of scoring in this contest, racking up 29 points to earn Vanderbilt a top 15 victory at home. The victory will certainly benefit the Commodores in their analytical rankings as well as the AP Poll, the latter of which comes out on Monday of next week.
The ‘Dores will return to action to take on LSU at noon on Saturday, Jan. 10, in Memorial Gymnasium.
