Vanderbilt wanted payback and got it. The Commodores exacting revenge on rival Tennessee Wednesday, winning 67-56 in Knoxville to move in front of the Vols in the SEC standings.
A month ago, Tennessee stormed into Memorial Gym and shot better than 58 percent from the floor against a pourous Vandy defense en route to a 87-75 win. The Commodores clamped down defensively this time, holding the Vols to just 18 first half points and 29 percent shooting for the game.
Vandy has put an emphasis on defense lately as it's held five of it's last seven opponents to 67 points or less. Couple that with a balanced offense that put five guys in double figures again against Tennessee and you get a team that's won three straight games and four of the last five.
Jeff Roberson and Matthew Fisher-Davis helped the Commodores (15-13, 8-7) get off to a fast start. The Dores jumped to leads of 8-0 and 18-4 in the first half on the way to a 10-point halftime lead.
Senior Luke Kornet led the way with 13 points and 11 rebounds as Vanderbilt moves into a sixth place tie in the the SEC, and maybe onto the radar of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
The record isn't flashy, but Vanderbilt has played the second toughest schedule in the country, boosted by the no. 1 non-conference strength of schedule. That's good enough to place Vandy 49th in the current RPI, now two spots ahead of Tennessee, and in position to potentially steal a tourney berth with a strong finish.
Considering that two of the Commodores final three games are against the SEC's top two teams, Kentucky and Florida, there is a huge opportunity to pad that resume before Selection Sunday.
Meanwhile, Tennessee now has some serious work to do. The "First Team Out", according to ESPN's Bracketology, entering Wednesday, the Vols now need to get back on track after losing three of the last four.
To finish with a winning conference record, Tennessee will have to sweep it's final three regular season games including Saturday's trip to South Carolina. It's not impossible, but there's no more margin for error after Wednesday's loss.
