NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It has been a long time since the Commodores have beaten the Tennessee Volunteers. That’s a fact nobody in the Vanderbilt locker room is shying away from.
“I haven’t beat these guys yet. I want this game (more) than any other,” Vanderbilt junior Jordan Wright said. “It’s a rivalry game for us, but we haven’t beat them yet. I really want this game.”
A shade under five years ago Vandy knocked off its in-state rival. There have been nine straight defeats for the Dores since then. Seven of those setbacks have been by an average of less than eight points.
And on Jan. 18, Scotty Pippen Jr.’s 3-pointer with 1:22 to go tied the game with Tennessee at 60-all — then the Volunteers scored eight straight to win 68-60 in Memorial Gymnasium.
Vanderbilt gets another shot at Tennessee at 5 p.m. CT Saturday in Knoxville.
“We really kicked ourselves after that game,” Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse said. “Looking back we really felt like we had some opportunities. I think our guys are a little upset. They’re ready to prove a point now that we’re kind of whole.”
No. 19 Tennessee has been 5-1 since that January result with the only setback coming Jan. 29 at Texas (52-51). The Vols won 72-63 at Mississippi State on Wednesday to move into a tie for third place in the SEC standings.
Vandy’s loss to Tennessee in January, meanwhile, was the start of a three-game losing streak. But the Dores have won 3 of 4 since then with the only defeat coming at No. 5 Kentucky.
On Tuesday, Vanderbilt gutted out a 70-62 victory over visiting Missouri by getting off the mat late and taking control of the outcome down the stretch.
“This is a great precursor to (the Tennessee) game because it’s going to be that sort of same type of grinding game that we played tonight in a more hostile environment,” Stackhouse said afterward. “But I think our guys are prepared for it and they’re ready for the challenge.”
Vanderbilt goes into the weekend tied for seventh place in the SEC with seven league games remaining. The Commodores are three games back of third but just two games ahead of 13th place – which goes to show just how jumbled the middle of the league table is in the early part of the month.
Stackhouse’s squad now has a prime opportunity to continue its ascent toward that top half of the league rather than fall back toward the bottom.
“Two games ago, after the Kentucky loss, coach Stackhouse told us, ‘We’ll right this ship if we go win three games in a row,’ ” Wright said. “We got these two down. Just going to Tennessee, it’s a perfect game to go win that third one and get back on the trajectory that we need to be on.”
- Vanderbilt’s five league wins is its most since winning six in the 2018-19 season.
- Pippen Jr. (1,272) needs 10 points Saturday to pass Will Perdue (1,281) on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list. Barry Booker (1,310) is 27th.
- As of Thursday, Pippen Jr. ranks second in the SEC in scoring (18.7 ppg), is fifth nationally in free throw attempts (167) and 10th nationally in free throws made (120).
- Vanderbilt ranks 26th nationally in 3-point defense (29.6) and 21st nationally in free throws attempts (496).
- The Commodores will be trying to win a third straight SEC game for the first since March of 2017.
- Wright has started 37 straight games for Vanderbilt.
- Trey Thomas has played in 48 straight games for the Commodores.
- Vanderbilt is 11-2 this season when leading at halftime, 8-0 when scoring at least 75 points and 12-3 when shooting at least 40 percent from the field.
- The Commodores are 75-127 all-time against Tennessee.
- Vandy last beat Tennessee on Feb. 22, 2017, in Knoxville.
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
