Vanderbilt Commodores Open SEC Play With Massive Road Win Over LSU Tigers
The Vanderbilt Commodores took a road trip down to Baton Rouge and left with a 80-72 win over the LSU Tigers.
This was the first conference matchup of the season for the Commodores and thus, a must-win game if they hope to keep the good vibes rolling into SEC play.
It was also considered to be one of the more winnable conference games for Vanderbilt, considering the Tigers are also still trying to find their footing during this campaign.
The Commodores' 13-1 record to start this season is their best since 2007.
The first half was all Vanderbilt. They were ahead for over 15 minutes and finished with a 34-27 lead.
LSU has been a second half team all year, though, so it was hard to feel too good about the lead heading into halftime.
As expected, the Tigers fought back and made it a tough game in the second period.
Vanderbilt started to catch fire offensively down the stretch, however.
Michigan State Spartans transfer AJ Hoggard was one of the heroes of this game with a stellar second half performance.
Hoggard finished with 17 total points, but 13 of those came down the stretch. He made two big threes that kept the Commodores ahead.
He had one of, if not the biggest, shot of the game to put them ahead by seven points with two minutes remaining.
Sophomore forward Jaylen Carey was another hero. It's hard to imagine Vanderbilt coming out with a victory without him.
He had 14 points on 6-of-11 from the field with five rebounds, a block and two steals. Like Hoggard, most of his points came in the second half.
Jason Edwards, normally the heart and soul of this Commodores offense, had easily his worst game of the season. He shot just 2-of-9 from the field for 10 points and had two rebounds with no assists.
Devin McGlockton also had just seven points. The Vanderbilt bench combined for 40 points.
Overall, it was a nice win to start this SEC season.
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders