Looking to bounce back from its championship loss to Drake in the Charleston Classic on Sunday, the Commodores came into Memorial Gym and took care of business, defeating Tennessee Tech 87-56 to move to 7-1 on the season.
The first half saw Vanderbilt lead for the majority of it (14:07 to be exact), but it didn't do so convincingly. The Commodores certainly didn't play a bad first half, but it felt like a half that left a bit to be desired considering what you know this team is capable of.
The Commodores were able to create a bit of separation in the second half after a 13-2 scoring run in the opening three minutes, with AJ Hoggard counting for nine of this points. This gave Vanderbilt a 16-point lead that they would never look back on, earning the Commodores a home win before traveling to Blacksburg, Virginia to face off against Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
Chris Manon took advantage of his opportunity in the starting lineup
It may have surprised some to see Jason Edwards not in the starting lineup for this game, as he was one of just three Commodores to have started all seven games coming into today (Grant Huffman and Devin McGlockton being the other two). This however gave Chris Manon his first crack at the starting five, and the transfer from Cornell took full advantage.
Manon scored 11 points while compiling four rebounds and a pair of blocks in 18 minutes played. All of which were above Manon's season averages coming into today.
"Chris deserves some more time," Byington said of Manon. "We study our team and our lineups and he does a lot of things on the floor and we're still trying to adjust and figure it out. So it wasn't anydbody did anything wrong, it was moreso guys did right."
When talking about the decision to put Manon in over Edwards the starting lineup, Byington made one thing especially clear. Who is or isn't a starter isn't something that he's putting much value in.
"I thought Jason Edwards played great today," Byington said. "I don't know what it's gonna be like next game; who's gonna start or the bench and I don't care, but finding guys that can be productive, that's the biggest thing."
Lack of interior presence and three-point shooting continue to be concerns for Vanderbilt
Though it's something that we figured could be a weakness for this team with Kijani Wright out of the lineup, this issue reared its head in the loss to Drake on Sunday, with the Commodores being outebounded 37-20 and giving up 48 points in the paint.
Though it wasn't nearly as bad for Vanderbilt today, there were still plenty of possessions where Tennessee Tech seemed to out position or even outmuscle the Commodores inside.
The Commodores also struggled again to hit consistently from three. This has been a trend for Vanderbilt early on in the season, as the came into Friday shooting it just 29.2% from behind the arc, which is tied for 307th in Division I. Though the Commodores ended the game shooting 35.5% from three, four of their 11 made three pointers came in the last 4:33. Prior to that, the Commodores were 26.7%.
It is encouraging that Vanderbilt started to see its shots fall to end the game (they hit four of their last five three-pointers), but poor shooting combined with the lack of an interior game could spell trouble against high-major opponents if they don't get fixed.
Vanderbilt leaned on Edwards and Hoggard today, and they both of the delivered
Jason Edwards and AJ Hoggard both led the charge in this one for Vanderbilt, with the duo combining for 38 points, with Edwards scoring 23 points off the bench and Hoggard scoring 15 points.
While Edwards led the way for Vanderbilt with 12 points in the first half, it was Hoggard who provided a spark for the Commodores in the second half at a time that they needed to create operation.
"It kind of just happened. If you would've told me that during the game I wouldn't have believed you," Hoggard said of his second half run. "I kinda of was out there just playing, you know, playing basketball. The ball finds energy, so just bringing that energy to the second half and the ball found me. So that's how it happened."
In the second half alone, Hoggard scored 11 points on 4/6 shooting, while also pitching in three rebounds and two assists. Nine of Hoggard's 11 points came on a 13-2 run that extended Vanderbilt's lead, and the Commodores never looked back after that point.
