Six was Enough for Vanderbilt to get a win over Alabama

The Vanderbilt Commodores went into Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Tuesday night and walked away with their second conference win of the season.
Six was Enough for Vanderbilt to get a win over Alabama
Six was Enough for Vanderbilt to get a win over Alabama /

The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team proved Tuesday night that you don't have to have a roster full of scholarship players to go on the road and win in the SEC.  

Down to just six scholarship players because of injuries, head coach Jerry Stackhouse and his squad rode the hot hand of Saben Lee, Dylan Disu and Scottie PippennJr. along with timely contributions and tough play from a group of walk-ons to drop Alabama and all but end their hopes of an NCAA berth. 

How bad are things for the Commodores in terms of depth? 

Entering Tuesday night, the Commodores saw Aaron Nesmith, Clevon Brown and Matthew Moyer all sitting injured on the bench inside Coleman Coliseum while Jordan Wright did not make the trip because of being in concussion protocol and remaining in Nashville.

Braelee Albert, one of the walk-ons for Stackhouse started on Tuesday at Alabama. he finished with just five points, but gave his team 17:27 of game time and added three rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot to the final winning totals. 

Fellow walk-on Isaiah Rice provided 14:46 of action and while he failed to find the scoring column, he dished out an assist and grabbed three steals in his time while allowing both Saben Lee and Scottie Pippen Jr. to grab some needed rest during the game. 

By the way, both Lee and Pippen Jr. along with Dylan Disu, four of the six scholarship players all played 34 or more minutes against Alabama, so every single second players like Rice and Jon Jossell was able to give the Commodores helped keep these guys fresh enough to sustain down the stretch.   

 Last but not least, Oton Jankovic produced perhaps the best game of his season on Tuesday, playing 10:20, scoring five points, including hitting a key three-point shot in the first half. He also nabbed three rebounds and an assist in the game. 

Despite the lack of depth and in a hostile road environment, this bunch of scrappy Commodores managed to shoot 55.% from the floor, despite not being a good shooting team for most of the season. They managed to hit 15 of 28 three-point shots, good for 53.6%, another number higher than their season average and Entering Tuesday night, the Commodores saw Aaron Nesmith, Clevon Brown and Matthew Moyer all sitting injured on the bench inside Coleman Coliseum while Jordan Wright did not make the trip because of being in concussion protocol and remaining in Nashville.ped off the night going 12 of 16 from the free-throw line, a place that has cost them games this season.  

It was far from pretty, but it was certainly a sight to see for those in attendance and for Commodore fans watching at home, and six was really just enough.  

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or on Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven


Published
Greg Arias
GREG ARIAS

A 29 year veteran of radio in the Middle Tennessee area and 16 years in digital and internet media having covered the Tennessee Titans for Scout Media and TitanInsider.com before joining the Sports Illustrated family of networks.