NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 4 seed Vanderbilt men’s basketball opens its SEC Tournament in the quarterfinals on Friday at Bridgestone Arena. The Commodores will face No. 5 seed Tennessee after the Volunteers downed Auburn 72-62 in the second round.
Tipoff is set for approximately 2:30 p.m. on ESPN. Karl Ravech, Jimmy Dykes and Alyssa Lang will have the call.
TANNER CONSENSUS FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
- Tyler Tanner finished the 2026 SEC campaign with historic numbers, averaging 21.5 points, 5.5 assists and 2.3 steals in the 18 league games.
- Tanner earned First Team All-SEC honors from both the conference head coaches and the Associated Press.
- The Vandy sophomore is the only SEC player to finish conference play averaging better than 21.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in at least the past 30 years.
- For the full season, Tanner averaged 19.2 points, 5.2 assists and 2.5 steals. He is the only player in the country to average 19/5/2 this season.
- He’s also the first to record the line Vanderbilt basketball history.
- Tanner is the first Commodore to earn First Team All-SEC honors since Liam Robbins in 2023 and the first to earn consensus first billing since Scotty Pippen Jr.
- Tanner was also named to the SEC All-Defensive Team. His 76 steals lead the conference and all high-major players in the country.
OKEREKE ON A ROLL
- AK Okereke scored in double figures in four-straight games to close the regular season, averaging 14.5 points over the stretch.
- Okereke shot .588 from the floor over the final four games and .538 from three. He also averaged 4.3 boards per game and 3.5 assists down the stretch.
- Perhaps Vandy’s most versatile player capable of matching up 1-5, Okereke averaged 11.2 points in SEC play while finishing third in assists with 31 and second in blocks with 13.
RIVALRY W IN SEASON FINALE
- Vanderbilt returned the favor with a road win at Tennessee to close the regular season. The victory secured the Commodores the No. 4 seed and a double-bye at the SEC Tournament.
- Vandy jumped to a 15-3 lead and never looked back in the wire-to-wire win.
- Tyler Tanner was spectacular again with a game-high 25 points while adding three assists and a pair of steals.
- AK Okereke added a pivotal 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting with three assists as well.
DORES AS THE NO. 4 SEED
- Vanderbilt earned the No. 4 seed and a double-bye to the SEC quarterfinals on Friday. The 4-seed is the highest for the Dores since 2012 when Vandy captured its last SEC Tournament Championship.
- 2026 marks the first time Vandy has claimed a double-bye at the SEC Tournament.
