No. 19 Vanderbilt men’s basketball will host Tennessee at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m. Central Time. The game will be broadcast on ESPN, and radio coverage is available on 102.5 The Game and the Vanderbilt Athletics app.
Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington has been added to the Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year watch list. According to Vanderbilt, “Byington has guided the Commodores to back-to-back 20-win seasons in his first two years at the helm.”
Sophomore point guard Tyler Tanner was named to both the Bob Cousy Award Point Guard of the Year midseason top 10 list and the Wooden Award Top 20 watch list. As stated by Vanderbilt, “It’s easy to see why as the point guard is averaging 18.6 points, 5.3 assists and 2.5 steals per game. He’s the only major conference player averaging better than 17.5/5/2 in those categories.” Tanner has scored double figures in all but one game this season and has increased his averages during SEC play.
Tanner currently ranks eighth for single-season steals in program history with 65 and is just 12 away from breaking the record of 77 steals in a season. His total of 139 assists places him fifth among sophomores at Vanderbilt, while his current point tally ties him for third most by a sophomore alongside Matt Freije.
Both Tanner and teammate Miles were named to the Naismith Men’s Defensive Player of the Year watchlist, representing half of the SEC players selected among the nation’s top defensive players this year. They are first and second in steals per game within their conference and rank among national leaders despite Miles missing five games.
Saturday marks the 210th meeting between Vanderbilt and Tennessee, with Tennessee holding a historical advantage in wins over Vanderbilt (132-77). In games played at Memorial Gymnasium, Vanderbilt trails narrowly with a record of 55-45 against Tennessee. Last season, each team won once on its home court.
