Vanderbilt Commodores Facing South Carolina Gamecocks in Must-Win SEC Matchup
The Vanderbilt Commodores men’s basketball team knew that things were going to get much tougher on the hardwood after they completed their non-conference schedule with an impressive 12-1 record.
While their strength of schedule wasn’t very imposing, ranking in the bottom 50 of the country, it was still an impressive stretch for the team. Coming into the campaign, they had won 11 or fewer games in three out of the last five seasons under head coach Jerry Stackhouse.
Relieved of his duties in the offseason, Mark Byington, off a record-setting 2023-24 with the James Madison Dukes, had his team hit the ground running.
One of the strengths of the Commodores during the start of the season was their offensive production.
The team was averaging 86 points per game, which was in the top 20 of the nation. Vanderbilt was bludgeoning opponents inside the arc, making over 60 percent of their 2-pointers, which made up for their lack of success from 3-point land.
However, since starting SEC play, their efficiency has plummeted, which has resulted in some tough results.
After going on the road and defeating the LSU Tigers 80-72 in the opener, they have dropped their following two games. The Mississippi State Bulldogs defeated them at Memorial Gymnasium 76-64 and a 75-66 road loss against the Missouri Tigers was suffered over the weekend.
On a two-game losing streak, the Commodores are back home for a matchup against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Wednesday night.
This is a must-win game for Byington and his crew.
How can they avoid the upset? They have to get off to a faster start.
Against Mississippi State and Missouri, an early hole was dug that proved too much to overcome. Vanderbilt trailed by 22 at one point against the Bulldogs and 17 against the Tigers.
But, the large deficits didn’t break their spirit, as they battled their way back in both contests. With four minutes to play in the first loss, they cut the lead down to five but ran out of steam.
On the road in Missouri, they trailed by one point with 5:30 remaining, but were outscored by eight points the rest of the way.
Finding their rhythm right from the opening tip will help keep them fresh for crunch time as they won’t have to exert as much energy getting back into the game.
One player to keep an eye on is Devin McGlockton, who has been a one-man wrecking crew on the boards for the Commodores.
He has already recorded double-digit rebounds in six games and is a key piece to their offensive attack even when he isn’t scoring the ball. McGlockton averages 3.5 offensive rebounds per game, which is 19th in the country and No. 2 in the conference.
After a tough start to conference play, leading scorer Jason Edwards also found his groove against the Tigers.
After a scoreless game against Mississippi State, he poured in an efficient 20 points against Missouri, a scoring punch the team desperately needs if they are going to win games.
Climbing back to 2-2 in the conference and avoiding a loss to what could be the last-place finisher in a loaded SEC is imperative.
What makes this game so important?
Their upcoming schedule is downright frightening, as pinpointing where a victory will come is a tall task.
After tonight, they play against a ranked opponent in 10 out of their last 14 games. Seven out of their next nine games following the Gamecocks matchup are against teams currently ranked inside the top 10 of the country.
2-2 looks so much better than 1-3 entering a season-defining stretch of games.