NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A career night from Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner powered the Commodores to an 88-69 win over SMU on Wednesday. Tanner scored 26 points off 10-of-14 shooting from the field and added five rebounds, both career-highs, to add another tally for the SEC in the annual ACC-SEC Challenge.
Undefeated Vanderbilt (9-0) rolled off its ninth-straight victory to open the season, its best start since the 2007-08 campaign. The Vanderbilt defense dominated the night racking up eight blocks, the most in a power-conference game since 2023. Vandy scored 19 points off 13 forced turnovers while holding SMU (8-1) to just 11 percent from beyond the arc.
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, was ruthless from two on the offensive end, finishing the night 30-of-39 on two-point attempts. The Dores piled up 54 points in the paint while the 76.9 two-point percentage notches the highest mark of any high-major team in the country this season.
Three other Commodores joined Tanner in double-figure scoring. Devin McGlockton went for 13 points and eight rebounds, Tyler Nickel added 12 points and Duke Miles had 10. Miles has contributed double-digit scoring in every game this season. Jalen Washington stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six boards and a season-high four blocks.
SMU had four players in double figures as well, led by Boopie Miller with 17. Samet Yigitoglu added 16 for the Mustangs.
Vanderbilt led for over 37 minutes of game time. After trading baskets for the opening minutes, the Commodores took the lead for good on a Nickel triple with 17:19 to play in the first half. Vanderbilt brought a 10-point lead into the break and extended it throughout the entire second half.
Vanderbilt takes a 10-day hiatus before returning to Memorial Gymnasium on December 13th to take on Central Arkansas.
