The Vanderbilt men's basketball team lost a tough game on Valentine's Day, falling in a 69-50 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers. The loss ended a three-game winning streak for the Commodores.
It also meant Tennessee earned a season sweep of the series after also soundly beating the Commodores in January. Vanderbilt had no answer for Tennessee's star forward Tyler Smith, who exploded for 30 points. The Commodores struggled with Tennessee's athletic defense, and they had only put 6 points on the board with about 10:30 left in the first half.
Vanderbilt was careless with possession of the ball, turning it over 22 times during the game. Turnovers are mistakes the team can't afford to make, because they negate any defensive stops and also give opponents too many chances to swing momentum. Vanderbilt also had an anemic shooting performance, going 2-16 from 3-point territory.
"I did not think we competed at the level we normally are used to our guys competing," said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings. "I thought we, for the first time, did not really fight like we normally fight and that was disappointing."
While the game itself was a little bit depressing from the standpoint of a Vanderbilt fan (and probably for the players, too), it did reveal a few things about the team and what it needs to do in order to be successful as the season moves forward.
One thing that was revealed yesterday was the importance of freshman Jeff Taylor. Taylor committed two fouls very quickly, and consequently spent most of the first half on the bench. When he did get back in the game, he had a tough time finding any rhythm on offense and the team struggled terribly because of this. If Taylor plays the way he is capable of, he poses a threat to opposing defenses because of his consistency on open jump shots and his outstanding ability to drive to the hoop.
Opposing defenses need to respect Taylor and guard him closely, and that opens up the floor for the rest of Vanderbilt's offense. Teams can't focus all their energies on preventing sophomore A. J. Ogilvy from getting the ball in the paint or from letting freshman Brad Tinsley or junior Jermaine Beal take outside shots. With Taylor on the bench, Tennessee was able to do both on Saturday.
Saturday's loss was also a reminder of the importance of reliable shooting within Stallings' offensive system. In the four games before SaturdayǃÚs loss, the team shot 51.8 percent from the floor. Beal and Tinsley have been the team's top outside shooters all year long, but during those four games freshmen Lance Goulbourne and Steve Tchiengang started to consistently hit open 3s as well.
The better shooting improved the team's offensive output and also helped spread the floor for the team's offensive stars, leading to a three-game win streak. Unfortunately the whole team struggled with shooting on Valentine's Day, and because of this the team never seemed like they had a chance to win.
While Saturday's game wasn't encouraging, it could be helpful as the team moves forward. They have an opportunity to learn from a loss like this. Hopefully, both for Vanderbilt and its fans, Stallings can use Saturday's game to show his players exactly what they need to do to keep winning games and turn the Commodores back into an NCAA tournament caliber team.
