NASHVILLE — No. 22-ranked Vanderbilt will square off against No. 25 Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Friday afternoon, marking the third meeting this season between the teams.
Each team won on the other’s home floor, the most recent time being the Commodores’ 86-82 victory last Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tyler Tanner scored 25 points in that game for Vanderbilt (24-7), and AK Okereke had 17.
The Volunteers (22-10) played without Nate Ament, who hit a big field goal in the final minute of a 69-65 win over Vanderbilt on Feb. 21.
Ament was superb on Thursday, recording team highs in points (27), rebounds (eight), assists (four) and blocks (three) to help the fifth-seeded Volunteers post a 72-62 win over 12th-seeded Auburn.
Tennessee trailed by 11 points before tightening defensively to highlight a 20-0 run.
Volunteers coach Rick Barnes said Ament barely had practiced the past two weeks due to a severely sprained ankle.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, a first-team All-SEC pick and also the Vols’ leading scorer at an average of 18.0 points per game, praised Ament after the win.
“The second half, (Ament) just took over and won us the game,” Gillespie said. “Defensively, we were talking about that, (Auburn’s) gonna break if we keep guarding them and keep being super physical, and I feel like that’s what we did.”
Even in the loss to Vanderbilt last Saturday, the same type of defensive pressure gave the Volunteers a chance.
The fourth-seeded Commodores, who will be playing about two miles from their campus, ended the regular season with consecutive road victories.
Tanner combined for 59 points in those two games. The first-team All-SEC member led Vanderbilt in average points (19.2) and assists (5.2).
Tanner was Vanderbilt’s only point guard for a stretch when Duke Mlles (15.9 ppg, 4.2 apg, 2.6 steals per game) missed a month after a knee procedure. Miles has struggled to return to form since returning, but his 13-point, four-steal, 7-of-7 showing from the foul line was key in Saturday’s win.
“I thought defensively, if you looked at us against Tennessee, I thought that was the best version we’ve been with this group in a while,” Commodore coach Mark Byington said. “We have more weapons, we can share the ball, we can pass, we’re more versatile, and this is a group that we anticipate is our best group. And I’m glad they’re rolling at the right time.”
Okereke, Vanderbilt’s do-a-bit-of-everything glue guy, fared well in those two wins, combining for 33 points and eight assists. He also fouled out the last three games, which has been a team-wide issue for the Commodores much of the season.
Vanderbilt needs to get Tyler Nickel (13.7 ppg, 40.2% from 3-point range) going, as he’s been under his scoring average for six straight games.
Tennessee is the top offensive rebounding team in the country (44.8%, per KenPom). The Volunteers out-rebounded the Commodores by nine in each meeting this season.
–Chris Lee, Field Level Media
