NASHVILLE, Tenn.--The difference between Vanderbilt and Alabama in a 78-66 win was the guy from just down the street.

Alabama's Brandon Miller scored 30 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds as the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide cruised to a win at Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

Miller, a freshman from nearby Cane Ridge High School, made it look easy, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor as Alabama (16-2, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) led by as much as 23 in the second half.

The defeat wasn't the worst news for the Commodores (9-9, 2-3), who learned before the game that 7-footer Liam Robbins--the team's leader in scoring (13.2), rebounding (5.9), blocks (2.9), field-goal (54.8%) and free-throw (77.8%) percentages--will be out 4-to-6 weeks with a sprained ankle.

Vandy got it within single digits in the final two minutes, but Alabama's Jaden Bradley hit a short jumper with 1:27 left to make the lead 11. The Commodores got within six in the final minute but Alabama closed the game on a 10-4 run in the final 41 seconds.

Alabama's smothering defense held Vanderbilt to 30.1% shooting. Tyrin Lawrence scored 20, but needed 16 shots to do it, while Jordan Wright had 15 on 15 shots from the floor.

Vandy led once at 22-21, but Alabama, on the strength of Miller's 12 first-half points, took a 36-26 lead at half.

Alabama's Noah Gurley hit a 3-pointer to give Alabama a 50-30 lead. Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse then called time out with 13:26 left, but Miller soon hit a 3 for the Crimson Tide's largest advantage.

Then, Alabama's Rylen Griffin answered Vandy's 9-0 run with a 3 with 9:12 remaining.

The Commodores won the turnover battle, 14-9, but couldn't match Alabama's 43.8% shooting in the end.

NOTE: Chris Lee also contributed to this article.

Vanderbilt lost in a way that felt worse than the scoreboard indicated

Even through the rough stretches, Vanderbilt had been able to hang its hat on the fact that it had competed and been in games with nearly all of its opponents.

Heading into Tuesday night, the Commodores’ previous largest margin of defeat was just 12. It seemed as if Stackhouse and his group had an innate ability to stay with tougher teams, even on their worst nights.

That wasn’t the case in Tuesday’s contest against Alabama in which the result was largely decided by the early second half.

It felt like Vanderbilt just wasn’t on the same level as its in-conference opponents for much of the night, a feel that hadn’t previously been in place.

That wasn’t entirely unexpected, though. Vanderbilt ran into a team that has legitimate national title aspirations and a higher-powered offense than the Commodores had faced off against all season.

Tuesday night’s game ended with a 12-point margin of defeat and brought up more questions than answers for the 9-9 Commodores.

The biggest story of Tuesday night happened Monday on the practice floor

There was never a doubt that Tuesday night’s game would be difficult for Vanderbilt, But the news of Robbins’ absence brought that to another level and will continue to make things difficult for the rest of the season.

The 7-footer had been Vanderbilt’s leading scorer, rebounder, and shot-blocker throughout non-conference play and the early part of conference play.

Robbins brought Vanderbilt a certain sense of security. When it was sputtering Robbins was the guy the Commodores dumped it down to for a quick basket, when someone got beat defensively, Robbins was there to clean their mess up by being disruptive at the rim.

The 7-footer had arguably been Vanderbilt’s most valuable player on both ends to this point.

From here Stackhouse and his team will have to turn to Quentin Millora-Brown and Lee Dort to replace the 22.3 minutes per night that Robbins had played.

Millora-Brown scored just two points in 13 minutes throughout Tuesday night’s contest. Dort chipped in five in 16 minutes of play.

Vanderbilt is 2-2 in games that Robbins scores less than 10 points. Those wins came in blowouts against Southeastern Louisiana along with Morehead State. The losses have come against Southern Mississippi and Memphis.

If Millora-Brown and Dort can’t significantly increase their production, the Commodores could be in major trouble.

“Quentin has to step up for us, he hasn’t really played well for us over the last few weeks, he needs to step up, plain and simple,” Stackhouse said of Millora-Brown.

The fourth-year coach also added that Malik Dia will also have to “grow up fast” in the absence of Robbins.

In all likelihood, Vanderbilt’s offense will have to be led primarily by its guards, who haven’t consistently proven that they can shoulder that load.

Vanderbilt just didn’t have enough offense on Tuesday night

An offense that looked complete as can be on Saturday looked one dimensional and stagnant just a few days later.

With the loss of Robbins, Vanderbilt just didn’t seem to have much of anything going for it offensively. The Commodores couldn’t just throw it down low for an easily accessible look around the rim, either.

Vanderbilt shot just 22-for-73 from the field and 6-for-33 from 3-point range. That amounts to 30.1% and 18.2%, respectively.

Those are certainly not numbers that are conducive to competing with the fourth-ranked team in the country.

“We got 33 of them up, they got 30 of them up, it’s our game it’s how we play, it comes down to who makes shots, tonight they made shots, our shooters got them but we didn’t make them,” Stackhouse said of the 3-point shooting battle.

That isn’t to say that those numbers can’t improve, but Vanderbilt will certainly have to find more answers on the offensive end if it wants to find any success without Robbins in the lineup.

Lee Dort may be the safest bet in Vanderbilt’s freshman class

As Dort ran on the floor, Tuesday’s game took on a completely different energy, that wasn’t a coincidence.

Within minutes, the freshman forward flushed a putback dunk, swatted away a shot from Charles Bediako at the rim, and grabbed a few early rebounds.

Colin Smith is certainly the freshman that was the most ready to play right away, but Dort may be the one that is the safest bet long term.

The 6-foot-10 forward still has some clear developing to do as a low-post threat, but the athleticism, size, and instincts that the freshman has have already translated to the SEC.

Dort will need to be a significant contributor as Vanderbilt moves forward without Robbins. The last two months of the season will tell plenty about how ready Dort is to take on a bigger role as he moves into his sophomore season.

“Lee Dort has had some moments and some flashes but there really hasn’t been any pressure for him to do anything, now we need him to step up and do some things,” Stackhouse said.

The key to doing that may be as simple as staying on the floor. The freshman forward picked up two fouls that limited him to just six first-half minutes.

Finding a way to harness his athleticism and physicality will be the key for Dort moving forward, but the young forward has shown that if he can do that he can be a factor right away for Stackhouse and his staff.

Notes:

Stackhouse stuck with his starting lineup of Trey Thomas, Lawrence, Myles Stute, Smith, and Millora-Brown from Saturday.

Vanderbilt ended the 1st half on a 3:24 stretch without a made field goal.

Tuesday marked the highest margin of defeat of the season for Vanderbilt, tied with the the Commodores loss to Southern Miss.