By SCOTT FELTS
The 25th ranked, fifth-seeded Tennessee Volunteers continued their run in the SEC tournament appearance against the 22nd ranked, No. 4 seed Vanderbilt Commodores on Friday from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The two teams averaged 75.5 points each and traded four-point road wins in the regular season. On Friday, the Volunteers (22-11, 11-7) dropped another close one to the Commodores (25-7, 11-7), losing by a 75-68 margin in the quarterfinals.
Let’s go Beyond the Box Score to see how the Vols lost their first game in the last six against Vandy in the SEC Tournament.
Both teams continued to play each other close through their fifth and sixth halves of competition this season between one another. The score was deadlocked 31-31 at the break after 10 lead changes and five ties. The second half saw both teams go on mini streaks that saw the Vols lead by as many as seven and Vandy as much as eight. Ultimately the Vols couldn’t overcome a stingy Vanderbilt defense, an ice-cold effort by one of their star players, and a huge game by two Vanderbilt guards.
Double Whammy: Vandy sophomore guard Tyler Tanner, a first-team All-SEC choice and the Commodores’ leading scorer, contributed 19 points, six rebounds and four assists on Friday. But it was Duke Miles who really shined, Miles made his first six shots on his way to 30 points, six rebounds, and four assists.
Free Throw Woes: After shooting 75% (24 of 32) from the line in Thursday’s win over Auburn, Tennessee shot only 62% (16-for-26) from the line against Vanderbilt on Friday. It’s been a problem all season as the Vols ranked 14th in the SEC and 279th in the country in free throw percentage coming into the SEC tournament. Vanderbilt leads the SEC with a 78.3% success rate on free throws.
Ament Absent: Vols star freshman Nate Ament struggled mightily with his shot on Friday. He scored just one point in the first half, finished with 12, but went a dismal 1-for-13 from the field while converting 10 of 12 free throws. This, after Ament made his return from injury against Auburn and scored 17′ of the Vols final 31 points. He also became one of just 10 SEC freshmen in the last 20 years to score 27-plus points five times in a single season.
Gillespie Improves, Just Not Enough: After shooting only 5-for-22 against Vanderbilt in the regular season finale, and with Ament struggling on Friday, Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 21 on 8 of 14 shooting from the field and added two rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Tournament Trends: Tennessee and Duke are the only two teams with 25-plus wins each of the past four seasons (2021-22 to 2024-25), that have played in a Power 5 league for the entire stretch. Tennessee, Alabama, and Houston are the only schools to make the last three Sweet 16s. If the Vols reach 25 wins this season it means they will extend their Elite Eight streak to three in a row. Tennessee, Alabama, and Duke are the only three schools to make each of the last two Elite Eights.
Up Next:With the loss, the Volunteers will await their NCAA Tournament seeding on Sunday and will open tournament play either Thursday or Friday.
Tip Ins: The starting lineup of Gillespie, Ament, Bishop Boswell, J.P. Estrella, and Felix Okpara lost for the first time this season, giving the Vols a 5-1 record when that group started. … The Vols fell to 15-4 in their last 19 games against Vanderbilt, with two of those losses now coming back to back. … Tennessee is 9-2 against Vanderbilt in SEC tournament play which is the best mark against any opponent that it has played multiple times. … Friday was the first time the two teams have faced each other in the SEC tournament with both also ranked in the AP Top 25. … Thursday’s win over Auburn was Tennessee’s fourth this year after trailing by 10 or more points. … In the past five seasons (2021-26), the Vols have 34 wins against AP Top 25 teams, which leads all of Division 1.