As a team that has made the road another home away from Memorial Gym this season, Vanderbilt is enjoying the quiet of shutting up opposing fans. After doing it for the first time in five years at rival Tennessee, the soaring Commodores can turn their attention to another noisy crowd at No. 1 Kentucky’s legendary Rupp Arena.
Senior Jermaine Beal’s season-high 25 points, 18 of which came in the second half, led the No. 21 Commodores to an 85-76 victory over the 14th-ranked Volunteers on Wednesday and extended Vanderbilt’s perfect Southeastern Conference record to 5-0, its best start in the league since 1966.
“I thought Beal was absolutely spectacular in the second half, and I am really proud of him,” said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. “That was a terrific game for him.”
A 29-9 Commodore run turned a 6-point deficit with 13:37 left in the second half into a 14-point lead that left a once-roaring crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena thunderstruck.
Beal scored eight points in one minute, the exclamation point a buried 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 74-60 with 4:58 remaining. That sent the Vanderbilt bench into a frenzy and prompted a time-out from Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl that was too little, too late.
Beal finished 4-6 from beyond the arc and hit 8-12 shots overall in an arena where he had previously struggled.
“A lot quieter and a lot more fun for sure,” Beal said. “It was hard for the crowd to be engaged because we were up in the second half. We have confidence in our team and our ability to play.”
The Commodores (16-3, 5-0) won their 10th straight game, improved to 3-0 in conference road games this season and defeated the Volunteers (15-4, 3-2) in Knoxville for the first time since Jan. 8, 2005. Despite trailing 35-31 at the half, the fourth time in five games they had been behind at the break, Vanderbilt quelled every Tennessee run, with Beal hitting big shots every step of the way.
Needless to say, the visiting locker room — like a funeral the previous four seasons — was a decidedly different atmosphere Wednesday night.
“It was really exciting,” said junior A.J. Ogilvy, who had 12 points. “Everybody was really pumped, jumping around, high-fiving and stuff, and it was great to get the win up in Knoxville.”
No rest for the weary though, as Stallings put it. Not with top-ranked Kentucky (19-1, 4-1) on slate on Saturday, coming off its first loss of the season at South Carolina and none too pleased about it.
Add the fact that the Wildcats are looking up at the Commodores in the SEC East, the game will be televised on ESPN, and Vanderbilt has claimed victories in six of the last eight games in the series, and it’s not as if the Commodores will be sneaking up on Kentucky.
“It’s great for our team, and we’re off to a great start, and we’re happy about that,” Stallings said. “We have to keep going. It’s arguably the best team in the country. You don’t really have an opportunity to enjoy it.”
Not unlike Vanderbilt last season, Kentucky is dominated by its freshmen, most notably highly touted point guard John Wall (17.1 points per game, 6.6 assists) and forward DeMarcus Cousins (16 points, 9.7 rebounds).
Stallings, like the rest of the country, has been particularly impressed by Wall, who’s widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft after this season.
“He’s got all the skills and all the intangibles, and he’s handled the pressure of the spotlight exceedingly well,” Stallings said. “I’m not ready to label him the best player I’ve ever seen, but he’s certainly in a class by himself this year in college basketball.”
They’ve created matchup problems with every team they faced in winning their first 19 games, but the Wildcats had their perfect start snapped right after they achieved their No. 1 ranking Tuesday night at South Carolina, the same team the Commodores beat 89-79 on Jan. 16.
A year after going 2-6 on the road of the SEC, nearly the exact same roster has already exceeded that win total this season. A more mature Vanderbilt expects its biggest challenge of the season, but from the players on the court, not the roar of Rupp Arena.
“It’s a tough 1-2 road trip, but I think we’re capable of going into Lexington and beating a competitive team, and (Wednesday) night definitely helped,” Ogilvy said.
