Vanderbilt dropped its sixth-straight game and fell to 0-6 in SEC play as well as 5-14 overall with a 75-62 loss to No. 5 Tennessee in front of a big, orange crowd at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores shot just 36.7% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range on Saturday.
The difference in Saturday's game in Jerry Stackhouse's mind; second chance points.
Tennessee had 22 of them which propelled it to a strong second half and its fourth-straight win.
Saturday's game was the tale of two halves.
The first half of action was among the best 20 minutes that the Commodores have played all season. Vanderbilt led 35-30 at the break behind a 9-0 run late in the half.
22 of the Commodores' points came from its backcourt of Ezra Manjon and Tyrin Lawrence.
Head coach Jerry Stackhouse's team led for 10:18 in the half. That's over double the time it led for in the first five SEC games combined.
The Commodores held the lead until 14:27 mark of the second half until a Dalton Knecht jumper and transition layup sparked a 7-0 Tennessee run to put the Volunteers ahead.
From there Knecht poured on 21 second-half points and 32 total as Tennessee led the rest of the way and moved to 15-4.
Three quick takes:
The crowd is a testament to where the program is
Memorial Gymnasium, a place that seemed to be filled by magic this time last season was full of Orange on Saturday.
The crowd was active when Vanderbilt scored but the Vanderbilt contingent was very clearly outnumbered. It felt as if the homecourt advantage was gone for Vanderbilt.
That was abundndatly clear as Tennessee fans broke into singing "Rocky Top" at the end of the night.
A sect of the Vanderbilt fanbase made a statement on Saturday. A statement that this product isn't good enough for them anymore. They want change.
That was evident on Saturday as orange filled the gym and paper bags were seen on the heads of students.
It hasn't always been this way, nor does it have to be moving forward. Anyone angry at the Vanderbilt contingent should ask "what do they have to show up for?"
This team will have to be carried by its guardplay
This team will go as far as its guards can take it.
On Saturday it looked capable of doing that.
Ezra Manjon and Tyrin Lawrence combined for 35 points while shooting 13-for-27 from the field.
As evidenced by Saturday's game, Vanderbilt can compete with just about every team in the league if Lawrence and Manjon outplay the other team's guards.
That happened when Vanderbilt had it rolling in the first half but the Commodores fell as Manjon was held to just two points in the second half of Saturday's contest
Vanderbilt came out ready to play but water found its level
It felt as if Vanderbilt's intensity, particularly on the defensive end, was exceptional to start Saturday's game. The Commodores didn't have the physicality that Tennessee did, but did come up with what felt like every loose ball.
Stackhouse's team also seemed to string together stops when it needed them.
Until the second half.
Tennessee outscored Vanderbilt 45-27 in the final 20 minutes of Saturday's game and held the Commodores to just 33.3% shooting in the half.
That shouldn't be any surprise. That's just the expected outcome.
Tennessee is a top 10 team for a reason, it's beat the Commodores in 11 of the last 12 times they've met for a reason. The longer this goes, last year's magical night that ended Lawrence knocking down a corner 3 to beat Tennessee at the buzzer looks more and more like just magic.
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