For the first time since 2008, the Vols are No. 1 in the college basketball world. And just like the last time Tennessee was atop the AP Poll in men’s basketball, their first game as the No. 1 team will be on the road against Vanderbilt.
No. 1 Tennessee (16-1, 5-0 SEC) will be in Nashville to face a reeling Vanderbilt squad (9-8, 0-5 SEC) on Wednesday night. The Vols are winners of 12-straight games and are off to their best start in a season since 2007-08. The Commodores, meanwhile, have lost five-straight games, all coming in conference play. That’s the worst losing streak to start SEC play in school history for Vanderbilt.
The Commodores have a lot of talent on their roster, but unfortunately for them, they lost their biggest star just five games into the season. Five-star point guard Darius Garland suffered a season-ending injury in the first month of play for the Commodores, and he just announced on Twitter on Tuesday that his Vanderbilt career is officially done, and he’s taking the rest of the year to prepare for the NBA.
At first, Vanderbilt was doing fine without their star point guard. But ever since they’ve entered SEC play, they’ve lost their ability to win.
Vanderbilt has yet to win an SEC game in five tries this season, and they’re coming off a 71-55 defeat at the hands of Mississippi State at home back on Saturday. The Commodores will look to play spoiler against Tennessee like they did in 2008, but this Vanderbilt squad isn’t playing nearly as well as that 2007-08 team was.
The Commodores still have talent on the team, but they haven’t played like it. Simisola Shittu was a five-star in the 2018 class, Aaron Nesmith was a four-star in the 2018 class, Saben Lee was a four-star in the 2017 class, and Matthew Moyer — a transfer from Syracuse — was a four-star in the 2017 class.
Yet all those stars have yet to get an SEC win this season.
Here is everything you need to know about the Vols’ match-up with Vanderbilt on Wednesday night.
Contrasting Styles
Tennessee doesn’t shoot a lot of threes this season, but Vanderbilt does. That will be one of the biggest differences between the two teams on Wednesday night.
On the season, the Commodores have attempted just 964 field goals. That’s in the bottom 35 of Division I basketball this season. While they may not take a lot of shots, almost half of them have been from behind the three-point line.
Vanderbilt has attempted 400 threes this season, which means 41.5 percent of their field goal attempts have been three-pointers. For comparison, the Vols have attempted just 319 threes all season, just 31.2 percent of their overall field goal attempts.
The Commodores jack up a lot of threes, but they aren’t exactly proficient at making them. On the season, Vandy is hitting just 33 percent of their three-pointers. That’s been even worse in SEC play, as the Commodores have made only 28.2 percent of their threes in five conference games. Tennessee has held opponents to just a 30.5 percent shooting percentage from three this season.
Matt Ryan, Aaron Nesmith, and Joe Toye are the most likely players to chuck up a three for the Commodores. Those three have combined to attempt 256 of Vandy’s 400 threes this season.
Not only that, but Vanderbilt rarely picks up assists on the offensive side of the court.
Vanderbilt averages just 12.7 assists per game this season, and they have the lowest amount of assists (45) in SEC play this season. Tennessee, meanwhile, is averaging 20 assists per contest and has the highest assist total (87) in conference games so far this year.
Both teams do try to draw fouls and get to the free throw line a lot, though. Vanderbilt is attempting 26.3 free throws per game, and Tennessee is averaging 23.4 free throws a game. Both squads have drawn almost an identical amount of fouls this season, too. The Commodores have drawn 352 fouls in 17 games while the Vols have drawn 351 fouls in 17 games.
Keeping the Ball Secure
If there’s one thing both teams do well, it’s not turning the ball over very much.
Vanderbilt is averaging just 12.9 turnovers per game this season, and that average has been slightly lower in SEC play. The Commodores are averaging 12.2 turnovers a contest in conference play. But Tennessee is one of the few teams averaging less turnovers than the Commodores this season.
On the year, the Vols have given the ball away just 11.7 times per game, and they’ve only turned it over 8.4 times a game in SEC play.
The Commodores may be good at not turning it over, but they’ve been really bad at forcing other teams to cough up the ball. Vanderbilt is only forcing 12.1 turnovers a game. So they aren’t turning the ball over much themselves, but they’re usually losing the turnover battle still because they can’t force opponents to turn it over. Tennessee is forcing an average of 13.9 turnovers per game.
Let’s Go Streaking
Tennessee enters Wednesday’s game with a number of streaks on the line.
Not only are the Vols riding a two-game winning streak on the road against Vanderbilt, but they have a 12-game overall winning streak going. That’s the longest for the program since the 1976-77 season.
The Vols also have a five-game winning streak in true road game, a five-game winning streak against in-state opponents, and a 10-game winning streak in SEC regular season games.
Tennessee has now been ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll for 27 consecutive weeks dating back to last season. That’s the third-longest such streak in program history.
Home Away from Home
The Vols have reasserted their dominance in Thompson-Boling Arena over the last two seasons, but they’ve found a nice home away from home about three hours west of Knoxville, too.
Tennessee has won four of the last five games they’ve played against Vanderbilt, and that includes wins in the last two games in Nashville (three if you count the 2016 SEC Tournament). The Vols are 4-2 in their last six true road games against the Commodores.
If you include SEC Tournament games, Tennessee is 6-2 in their last eight games against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Don’t Repeat History
The last time (and only other time) the Vols earned the No. 1 ranking in college basketball, they fell off their pedestal barely 24 hours after being voted No. 1. And that was thanks to Vanderbilt.
After taking down then-No. 1 Memphis on the road, No. 2 Tennessee ascended to No. 1 in the AP Poll on Monday. But No. 18 Vanderbilt was lying in wait for the Vols that Tuesday night in Nashville, and they handed the Vols a 72-69 upset.
Last time, the Vols were coming off an emotional victory over Memphis on the road and had a very short turnaround to go to Nashville. This time, Tennessee played at home against a good Alabama squad and has a normal stretch of rest before they take on Vandy.
Not only that, but this Vanderbilt team is no comparison to that 2007-08 squad. This Vanderbilt team already has as many losses (8) in 17 games as that Vandy team did in the entire season. That Vanderbilt team was a four-seed in the NCAA Tournament. This team won’t even make it to the Big Dance.
Regardless, the Vols will be attempting not to repeat history on Wednesday night, and Vanderbilt will give UT their best shot.
