Two teams coming off wins over top-10 opponents meet in Tuscaloosa, Ala., when Vanderbilt travels to No. 4 Alabama on Tuesday evening.
The Crimson Tide (15-3, 4-1 SEC) excelled with a 102-97 win at then-No. 8 Kentucky on Saturday, marking Alabama’s fifth straight road win. That followed a rare home loss (74-64) to Ole Miss four days prior, snapping an eight-game home winning streak.
“I told our guys after the loss Tuesday, we didn’t deserve to win with our preparation going into the game and our effort in the game,” coach Nate Oats said. “We need to deserve to win from now on, and it better start with guys putting so much time and effort in they’re just not going to surrender.”
The Commodores (15-3, 3-2) got their biggest home win in years with a 76-75 home defeat of sixth-ranked Tennessee on Saturday.
It was a marquee win for first-year coach Mark Byington at Vanderbilt, who admitted to “thinking about things we got to do next,” as fans stormed the floor following the upset.
“It’s so daunting when you look at everything and Alabama’s a Final Four team,” Byington said. “I don’t think it’s impossible to overlook them. A tough environment, road environment. So what we’ll do is what we’ll do. Same things. We chop wood, carry water. Come back tomorrow, let’s figure out what we did right. Figure out what we did wrong. Prepare the best we can for Alabama.”
Both teams like to play fast (Alabama is No. 1 in KenPom.com’s adjusted tempo metric, Vanderbilt is 52nd) and use a lot of players. The Commodores rank 25th in “bench minutes,” according to KenPom, while the Crimson Tide are 43rd.
The Crimson Tide lead the country in scoring (90.2), with four active players — Mark Sears (18.9), Grant Nelson (12.7), Labaron Philon (11.6) and Aden Holloway (10.8) — averaging double figures.
That doesn’t include South Florida transfer Chris Youngblood, the American Conference Co-Player of the Year last season, who averaged 10.7 points over his last three games. Youngblood is getting acclimated to the Crimson Tide rotation after missing the first nine games with an ankle injury. He played 24 minutes against Kentucky after playing 35 vs. Ole Miss.
Vanderbilt has four players averaging in double figures: Jason Edwards (17.1), AJ Hoggard (11.1), Devin McGlockton (10.7) and Tyler Nickel (10.1).
The Commodores’ 76 points against Tennessee were the most the Vols, who allow 58.8 points per game, have allowed all season. Vanderbilt reserve Jaylen Carey came off the bench to tie season highs in points (14) and rebounds (10).
The Crimson Tide have few offensive weaknesses, but ball security is one that Vanderbilt can exploit. Alabama’s 16.9 percent turnover rate ranks 136th nationally and it coughed it up 21 times in the Ole Miss defeat.
The Commodores’ defense ranks eighth in the country in turnover rate (22.9 percent), forcing 11 in the win over Tennessee and 25 the game before, a 66-63 home win over South Carolina.
However, Alabama’s size — the Crimson Tide have a trio of 6-foot-11 regulars in Nelson, Cliff Omoruyi and Jarin Stevenson — could be an issue for Vanderbilt just as it was for Kentucky at times on Saturday.
Carey (6-foot-8), McGlockton (6-foot-7) and Nickel (6-foot-7) are the Commodores’ three tallest regulars. McGlockton leads Vanderbilt in rebounds (7.9), blocks (1.4) and field-goal percentage (64.8 percent).
–Field Level Media
