24/22 Vanderbilt (23-7, 10-7 SEC) at 23/25 Tennessee (21-9, 11-7 SEC)
Saturday, March 7 • 1 p.m. CT
Food City Center • Knoxville, Tenn.
ESPN • 102.5 The Game • Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — No. 24 Vanderbilt men’s basketball closes the regular season with a visit to in-state rival No. 23 Tennessee on Saturday afternoon at Food City Center. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT on ESPN with Matt Schumacker and Richard Hendrix on the call.
Fans can also tune in on 102.5 The Game and the Vanderbilt Athletics App to listen to Kevin Ingram and Tim Thompson call all the action.
TT’S HISTORIC NIGHT
- Tyler Tanner filled the stat sheet in Vandy’s overtime win at Ole Miss, going for 34 points, seven assists, five rebounds and five steals. He’s the only player to record a line of 30/5/5/5 or more in an SEC game in the past 30 years.
- Ben Simmons is the only other SEC player to match the feat in the past 30 seasons, doing so against nonconference foe North Florida in 2015.
- Tanner was especially impactful in the overtime period, scoring 10 of Vandy’s 13 points.
20 WINS AGAIN
- Vanderbilt notched its second consecutive 20-win season under Mark Byington. It’s the first time the Dores have reached the plateau in back-to-back seasons since 2010-11 and 2011-12.
- Byington is the first head coach to lead the Commodores to 20 wins in each of his first two seasons at the helm in program history.
- It’s just the ninth time the Dores have ever recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons.
- The Dores added their 23rd win at Ole Miss on March 3. It’s the first time since 2009-10 Vandy has recorded 23 regular season wins.
ALL-AMERICA NUMBERS
- Tyler Tanner is an All-American. Just look at the numbers:
- The sophomore is averaging 19.0 points, 5.3 assists and 2.46 steals. He’s the only high-major player averaging better than 18.0 ppg/5.0 apg/2.2 spg.
- In SEC action, Tanner is producing an eye-popping 21.3 points, 5.6 assists and 2.3 steals. He is the only high-major player in the country averaging 20 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game in conference play.
- He’s the only SEC player to average those numbers in league play in the past 30 seasons and one of just five high-major players to hit the marks since 1996-97. The others: Trey Burke (Mich.), Jason Terry (Ariz.), Evan Turner (Ohio St.), Jason Williams (Duke). All four were consensus All-Americans in their respective seasons.
- If Tanner scores 16 points with three assists in Saturday’s finale, he’ll join Terry and Williams as the only players at the high-major level in the past 30 seasons to average 21/5.5/2 during conference play.
SERIES HISTORY
- Vanderbilt and Tennessee meet for the second time in two weeks after the Vols picked up a 69-65 win in Memorial Gymnasium on Feb. 21.
- The Dores are seeking their first win in Knoxville since 2017.
- A Vandy win would give the Commodores 24 regular season wins, the most since 2007-08.
