No. 6 Tennessee hits the road to face Vanderbilt on Saturday and does not have to go back far into its history to realize the dangers of a trip to Nashville.
It’ll be the biggest home game of the year for the Commodores (14-3, 2-2 SEC), who have lost the last two in the series against the Volunteers (16-1, 3-1). But 2023 is not all that long ago that Vanderbilt can’t remember the joy of a victory in the in-state series.
Vanderbilt delivered a 66-65 victory over Tennessee at home in February of 2023 to spark a 10-1 run that spanned into the SEC tournament.
The Commodores got a three-point play from Devin McGlockton with 0.6 seconds remaining in Wednesday’s 66-63 home win over South Carolina. AJ Hoggard added team highs in points (14) and assists (four).
Within minutes of that victory, attention had already turned to the Vols, with McGlockton and Hoggard — both in their first years at Vanderbilt after transferring from Boston College and Michigan State, respectively — asked about their thoughts on the rivalry.
“Me, I’m just treating it how I usually treat Michigan State vs. Michigan — we don’t like them and they don’t like us,” Hoggard said.
Said McGlockton: “I know it’s going to be serious. I went to the (Tennessee-Vanderbilt) football game and it was pretty intense.”
The Vols blew open a close game early in the second half with Georgia on Tuesday, getting 19 points from Jordan Gainey in a 74-56 home win.
Tennessee has been on the road to recovery following a disastrous 73-43 loss at Florida on Jan. 7. The Vols also won their only road game since, earning a 74-70 victory at Texas four days later.
There remain lingering concerns over a shooting slump for Chaz Lanier, a Nashville native who is Tennessee’s leading scorer at 18.2 points per game. Lanier was 2 of 16 from the floor against Georgia, 3 of 11 against Texas and 3 of 16 against Florida, leaving him with 18.6-percent shooting over the three games. He is also 3 of 34 from 3-point range in the stretch.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said he expects the downturn to pass.
“The best of the best, I’ve seen them go through some period where they struggle to shoot,” Barnes said after the Georgia game. “It’s not the easiest thing in the world.”
Both teams have depth and experience in the backcourt.
Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler (12.1 points, 7.5 assists) led a second-half offensive surge against Georgia to finish with 16 points, seven assists and just two turnovers. Zeigler also picked up a career-best six steals to establish a program record of 215 in his career.
Gainey (11.6 points), who has come off the bench in every game, has taken charge on offense when needed. The Georgia contest marked his 10th double-figure scoring game.
A key to the outcome will be the matchup of the 6-foot-7 McGlockton (10.9 points, 8.2 rebounds) for Vanderbilt against Tennessee’s bigger frontcourt led by 6-10 Igor Milicic Jr. (10.4 points, 8.6 rebounds) and 6-11 Felix Okpara (6.9 points, 6.2 rebounds).
–Field Level Media
