Vanderbilt Used Opportunistic Defense To Avoid Major South Carolina Upset
The Vanderbilt Commodores men’s basketball team was able to avoid disaster on Wednesday night, picking up a 66-63 victory over the visiting South Carolina Gamecocks.
An and-one by Devin McGlockton with 0.6 seconds remaining in the game proved to be the difference, as his game-winning bucket helped improve the team to 2-2 in the SEC and 14-3 overall on the campaign.
The Commodores got the job done in what was a must-win affair. The Gamecocks remain one of three teams, along with the Oklahoma Sooners and Arkansas Razorbacks, that do not have a victory during conference play.
Since the calendar has flipped from their nonconference schedule, how Vanderbilt finds success has changed as well.
At the start of the year, it was a high-flying offense that was amongst the highest-scoring in the nation buoying their success. Through four SEC games, their defense has been carrying an offense that has struggled with efficiency.
On Wednesday against South Carolina, it was more of the same.
The Commodores made only 41.1% of their shots overall and a ghastly 19% from 3-point range, going 4-of-21. But against the Gamecocks it was enough to get the job done because of the suffocating defense they played.
It was far from a perfect defensive performance since Vanderbilt struggled to defend the 3-point line by allowing their opponents to shoot 43.8% from beyond the arc.
They were whistled for 18 fouls as well, at points getting too physical.
But, that aggressiveness did pay off as they forced South Carolina into 25 turnovers, recording 15 steals as a team.
Chris Manon led the way with four, while A.J. Hoggard and Tyler Tanner each recorded three.
That is where the game was won.
The Gamecocks played pretty much even or outperformed the Commodores elsewhere. Despite a 13-turnover difference, Vanderbilt outscored South Carolina only 22-17 in points off of turnovers.
The Gamecocks were more efficient shooting the ball in every facet and dominated on the glass, outrebounding the Commodores 37-25.
However, Vanderbilt was ahead in the most important stat; the final score.
But, if this matchup showed them anything, it is that they have plenty of work to do if they want to move off the NCAA Tournament bubble and improve their postseason standing.
Things aren’t going to get any easier, as the Commodores need to find a way to score the ball more efficiently or the upper-echelon teams in the SEC are going to present them with major problems.
