No. 19 Vanderbilt men’s basketball will travel to face Missouri on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Missouri. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network, with Dave Neal and Jon Sundvold providing commentary. Fans can also listen to the game on 102.5 The Game or through the Vanderbilt Athletics app, where Kevin Ingram and Tim Thompson will cover the action.
Tyler Nickel led Vanderbilt in its recent win over Texas A&M by scoring a Southeastern Conference career-high of 25 points, including five three-pointers. This brings his season total to 84 made threes, just two away from entering Vanderbilt’s single-season top ten for made three-pointers. Nickel has performed strongly against Texas A&M this season, accumulating 46 points and making 12 threes across two games.
AK Okereke contributed significantly in the same game after Tyler Tanner was sidelined due to foul trouble. Okereke took over as point guard and finished with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He scored 15 of his points in the second half and made a crucial three-pointer late in the game to help secure the victory. Okereke is averaging 11.1 points per game during SEC play along with contributions in rebounds, assists, and steals.
Vanderbilt recently achieved its second consecutive season with at least 20 wins under head coach Mark Byington—an accomplishment last seen by the program during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. Byington is now the first head coach in Commodores history to reach at least 20 wins in each of his first two seasons leading the team. After their win over Texas A&M on February 14th, Vanderbilt now has a record of 21 regular season victories for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
In terms of series history between these teams, Missouri leads slightly with a record of ten wins to nine over Vanderbilt. The Commodores are seeking their first win ever in Columbia against Missouri. In their most recent matchup last season, Vanderbilt rallied late to force overtime when Tyler Nickel hit a three-pointer on their final possession of regulation.
