The box score suggests Tennessee didn’t do anything glaringly wrong in its 76-75 loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road Saturday. UT, ranked No. 6 in both polls, nearly erased a 16-point second half deficit, which was 10 points with under three to go, before losing in the final seconds.
Chaz Lanier missed a potential game-tying free throw one possession after he had a potential game-tying shot blocked. Those standout miscues were vintage Vols in this game. After all, they were 17-of-21 from the free throw line, and Lanier was 3-of-4 from the stripe while scoring 17 points overall.
It was just at the end when Lanier had his two offensive miscues.
Untimely mistakes didn’t start at the end, though. Vandy built its lead because Zakai Zeigler got into foul trouble. Zeigler, who finished with 16 points and 10 assists, rode the bench for a large portion of the first half after picking up two fouls.
Again, on the scorers’ table, it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. UT and Vanderbilt both had 16 personal fouls, but the specific fouls were more costly for Rick Barnes’ team. Outside of that, there were ever-so-slight ways in which Vandy outplayed the Vols.
While UT was 17-of-21 from the stripe, Vandy was 16-of-19, slightly better. The ‘Dores were slightly better in the paint, outscoring the Vols 34-28. Most notably, they were slightly better on the boards, outrebounding the Vols 29-25. The difference was a 12-8 offensive rebound edge.
Felix Okpara and Igor Milicic Jr. did score 16 points each, but they only combined for nine total rebounds. Meanwhile, Jaylen Carey delivered 14 points and 10 boards off the bench. These slight miscues were enough to outweigh the Vols’ edge from three, as they shot 10-of-20.
Memorial Magic is a real thing at this gym in Nashville, but Tennessee still had plenty of opportunities to win this game. Vandy wasn’t mistake-free either. After all, they fouled Lanier with under three seconds to go when the Vols trailed 76-74 and had the ball with no timeouts on Vandy’s side. That came after Vandy missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
Simply put, both teams made just a few mistakes, but the Vols mad a few more, and the timing was slightly worse. In a road environment, that’s enough for a one-point loss, which on paper is nothing to be ashamed of even for a top 10 team like the Vols.
With the win, Mark Byington’s ‘Dores improve to 15-2 and 3-2 in SEC play. They will next visit the the Alabama Crimson Tide, who are ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the Coaches Poll, on Tuesday. Tennessee, meanwhile, falls to 16-2 and 3-2 in league play. The Vols will return home Tuesday to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who are No. 15 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the Coaches Poll.
