After a thrilling run through SEC play, which included multiple wins over ranked opponents and a brief stint in the nation’s top 25, this year’s rebuilt ’Dores squad squandered hometown advantage with a 79-72 loss in the first round of the SEC tournament.
Texas played like its season was on the line, because it was — the Longhorns needed the win to stay in March Madness contention. Vanderbilt, otherwise a lock for the nation’s biggest college basketball stage, may have jeopardized its NCAA tournament bid with today’s early exit.
Halfway through the second half, Texas’ Ze'Rik Onyema finished an alley-oop that all but sealed Vanderbilt’s fate. Throughout the game, Texas threw down at least three dunks, firmly controlling the rim on offense and defense.
Vanderbilt starters Justin Edwards, Tyler Nickel and Chris Mañon helped lead a late push to bring Vanderbilt within seven points, but otherwise struggled to control the game against a bigger, grittier, more aggressive Longhorns team that seemed to come down with every close rebound and score at will in the paint. Tramon Mark and Tre Johnson — the latter a 6-foot-6 guard recently honored as the SEC Freshman of the Year — led Texas with 19 points. Johnson is projected as a first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft.Â
Both teams shot poorly, especially in the first half, when it took a Texas three-pointer 17 minutes into the game to break a 0-14 drought from behind the arc. Vanderbilt came in as the game’s slight favorite, but couldn’t capture the second-half chemistry that helped the ’Dores earn wins over top-ranked opponents this year.Â
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AJ Hoggard in particular — typically a go-to contributor for Vanderbilt — struggled to score when it mattered. Mañon battled through the entire game, at times trying to will the team out of its looming underperformance. Trailing by 15 late in the second half, he threw down a windmill dunk after the ref whistled him for a defensive foul before letting out a primal scream.
Freshman point guard Tyler Tanner, a Brentwood Academy recruit and often the smallest player on the court, was a bright spot, playing scrappy defense and setting up teammates with crisp perimeter passes.Â
Tanner’s skill set showed some resemblance to fellow Brentwood Academy and Vanderbilt product Darius Garland — who shares an off-the-court friendship with Tanner — though without Garland’s knack for three-point shooting.
Garland, 25, a two-time NBA all-star, watched the game courtside with Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Tristan Thompson, who played one season at Texas before joining the NBA. Garland obliged many adoring Vanderbilt fans with selfies and smiles. Both showed off diamond jewelry made possible by nine-figure NBA earnings and convened with Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson at halftime. Cleveland, the NBA’s hottest team, tests its 15-game win streak against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Coach Mark Byington rebuilt Vanderbilt’s team this year with upperclassmen transfers like Edwards (North Texas), Nickel (UNC and Virginia Tech), Mañon (Cornell) and Hoggard (Michigan State). A winning record and SEC success, including a close win at home against Tennessee, has likely earned another year coaching the ’Dores.
The Texas loss adds to a recent slide by Vanderbilt, which followed three spectacular wins against ranked SEC rivals Texas A&M, Missouri and Ole Miss with embarrassing losses to Arkansas and Georgia in its past five games.
