Vanderbilt once again showed why it could be a big threat in the NCAA Tournament after notching an impressive win against Auburn, 84-76, at Neville Arena on Tuesday.
The 19th-ranked Commodores, who played without Duke Miles and Frankie Collins, closed the first half on a 16-5 run. From there, they never relinquished the momentum despite a few scares from the Tigers.
Vanderbilt improved to 20-4, including 7-4 in the SEC. Coach Mark Byington has led the team to back-to-back 20-win campaigns for the first time since 2011 and 2012.
Byington had full confidence in his squad heading into the game, although they were coming off a tough one-point loss to Oklahoma on Saturday.
“I thought our guys had their minds made up. We weren't leaving here without a win,” said Byington, as quoted by Vanderbilt reporter Alaina Morris.
Tyler Tanner led the way with 25 points on top of four rebounds and six assists, while Jalen Washington added 22 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
After the game, Washington stressed that setting the tone early was key for them, while also admitting that he wanted to get going early.
“We knew we had to come out aggressive, make a statement in the first half, in the first four minutes, so I felt like that's what we did. We executed well, we competed, and we just played hard all 40 minutes,” said the senior center in an interview with ESPN.
“I just wanted to force the issue a little bit on the offensive end, just kind of finding my groove, just being aggressive out of the gate.”
Vanderbilt has won four of its last five assignments.
