As a native Nashvillian, I have respected the respectability of the Vanderbilt basketball program over the years.
Fifteen NCAA tournament appearances and 14 NIT appearances since 1974 is what it is, but the magic that has occurred in Memorial Gymnasium during that time has been extraordinary. Numerous top ranked teams have lost in the funky confines of the gym, built in the 1950’s as a memorial to students and alumni who died in World War II. This year’s team, off to the best start of any Vanderbilt team in history, looks to have the makings of more than a at home upset machine.
Vanderbilt is currently 16-0 and ranked No. 10 in the latest AP poll after this weekend’s win over LSU to match the best start in school history. A slate of tough road games are still on the schedule, but the Commodores own four convincing road wins so far. Vanderbilt beat UCF, who beat Kansas, 105-93. Vandy beat Wake Forest, who beat North Carolina at UNC, 98-67. And Vanderbilt beat Memphis, 77-70, and South Carolina, 83-71, on the road.
Photo by Vanderbilt Athletics/University Images via Getty Images
What Makes Vandy So Good?
So what makes this Vanderbilt team so special? For starters the guard play is exceptional.
Duke Miles and Tyler Tanner are one of the top guard tandems in college basketball. Both play with exceptional basketball savvy and high skill level. Miles, a 6-2 senior, averages 17.2 points, 4.4 assists to 1.6 turnovers, and is shooting 35 percent from three. Though perhaps most impressive is his 2.9 steals per game.
His running mate Tanner isn’t far behind in that category at 2.6 steals per game. The hometown 6-0 sophomore also is just edging out Miles as the leading scorer at 17.3 ppg and has an average of 5.4 assists and 1.8 turnovers, while shooting 39 percent for behind the arc.
Both players are a problem for opponents on both ends of the court, while also being able to extend defensive pressure and rebound their position. The duo leads an offensive that ranks No. 7 in the country at 93.6 and has a No. 8 ranked point differential.
The Commodores also have scoring balance behind the guards, Forwards Tyler Nickel is the third leading scorer at 15 points per game while shooting 48.2 percent from three on 110 attempts.
Leading rebounder Devin McGlockton at 7.4 per game, also scores at a 10.4 points per game. He is an anchor of stability for the ‘Dores. And big man Jalen Washington goes for 10.1 a game and is the second leading rebounder at 5.3 a game.
Along with comfortably being able to go nine deep, Vanderbilt has seven seniors out of that nine.
SEC Player of the Week | Jan. 12
Tyler Tanner, @VandyMBB #SECMBB | presented by @Allstate pic.twitter.com/WOgskhn0xs
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) January 12, 2026
Two Big Questions About This Team
The experience of Vanderbilt speaks to one of the two big questions about just how good that team can ultimately be: Can the Commodores be a top ten team on the road going into eight away SEC games? I feel confident it will go well because of the guard play and the experience.
The other question is how will Vanderbilt’s physicality hold up in the paint and against a taller physical guard? So far the answer is that Vanderbilt can hold its ground and out play opponents in other regards.
Players have to execute and win games, but the foundation is the innovative coaching of head coach Mark Byington. After a four-year run at James Madison with a 70 percent winning percentage and a NCAA tournament appearance and a 32-4 record in the 2023-2034 season, Byington came to Nashville. He brought an outside the box mentality, illustrated by labeling every player on the 2024-2025 season as point guards. The Commodores finished 20-13 with a NCAA tournament berth.
So this year does Vanderbilt experience the basketball success under a second year former James Madison coach like the Indiana football program is experiencing success under another second year former James Madison head coach?
We’ll find out soon enough.
The lead national recruiting scout for Rivals.com and 247sports.com for a 20-year span, Jerry Meyer grew up in basketball as the son of legendary coach Don Meyer. Jerry set the all-time career assist record for college basketball (1,314) and was a two-time Mr. Basketball in Tennessee. He coached at the pro and high school level, was previously an assistant at Vanderbilt and co-authored “Basketball Skills and Drills”.
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