Just when Vanderbilt found itself on the bubble, its hopes were crushed by the league’s last place team in its 84-77 loss to Louisiana State in Baton Rouge.
“Obviously it’s a disappointing loss for us, we knew that they had some weapons and those weapons hurt us,” Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said.
Vanderbilt got out to a 9-2 start but fell behind quickly after Ezra Manjon picked up two early fouls and Liam Robbins exited the game, shortly thereafter.
The stretch that followed doomed the Commodores.
Tyrin Lawrence picked up the slack by giving Vanderbilt 11 of its first 16 points but was slowed down as the Commodores went on a scoring drought that lasted over five minutes.
Vanderbilt trailed 39-32 at the half despite Lawrence’s hot start and eight blocked shots by the Commodores. Six of those came from Robbins.
The hole the Commodores dug themselves into early on proved to be too much to overcome as LSU held the lead for all but 30 seconds of the second half.
The Tigers led for a total of 28:40 as compared to the 9:25 that Vanderbilt possessed the lead.
Vanderbilt sat on the verge of getting ahead for much of the second half, but couldn’t string together enough stops to finish this one on top.
“We scored enough points, I thought we did pretty good offensively but we didn’t get the stops we needed in the second half and that was the difference in the game,” Stackhouse said.
Vanderbilt falls into the trap
As Vanderbilt faced off against LSU, who entered Wednesday’s game on a 14-game losing streak, it felt like this one had “trap game” written all over it.
The Commodores’ worst fears came to fruition on Wednesday night in their seven-point loss at the hands of the Southeastern Conference’s last place team.
A team that felt impossible to bet against just a few days ago seemed to lose its magic in Baton Rouge. It will have an uphill climb from here.
“Gotta find a way to finish out strong, I think we need to win out," Stackhouse said.
Three quick takes:
It may be time to kiss that hope of an at-large rèsumè goodbye
It was probably already going to require a 4-0 end to the regular season and a few wins in Bridgestone Arena, but heading into Wednesday night Vanderbilt’s hope of an NCAA tournament bid was alive.
As it boards the plane home to Baton Rouge, Vanderbilt may as well throw that hope away.
Wednesday night’s loss falls into quad 3 and will likely put the Commodores, who were starting to move towards the bubble, out of striking distance.
Unless Jerry Stackhouse’s team can find enough magic to earn an auto bid at Bridgestone Arena, he will likely enter year five of his tenure without an NCAA tournament appearance.
Vanderbilt still has hope of making another NIT run, but after a five-game winning streak, being completely out of consideration on Selection Sunday is a disappointment.
Ezra Manjon’s importance has never been more clear
Over Vanderbilt’s five-game winning streak Manjon has put himself in the conversation as one of the best playmakers in the league, but he may not have been fully appreciated until he wasn’t there.
Manjon picked up two early fouls and had to exit Wednesday night’s game with 16:58 to play in the first half, when the veteran guard left the contest Vanderbilt led 6-2.
The 6-foot-guard returned to a nine-point deficit and a Vanderbilt scoring drought that lasted over five minutes.
That wasn’t a coincidence, either.
Without Manjon on the floor good looks from inside the arc were few and far between, it felt like Vanderbilt was overwhelmed by LSU’s length and athleticism throughout much of the first half.
The senior guard opened up Vanderbilt’s offense with six early points in the second half and allowed the Commodores to get back within striking distance after a 6-0 run.
Manjon couldn’t lead the Commodores to a win on Wednesday night, but has proven to be the catalyst that makes Vanderbilt’s offense go throughout the last three weeks.
In a postseason matchup Vanderbilt should hope to avoid a team with athleticism and physical bigs
Vanderbilt’s weaknesses have been on display over the last week.
With each night that Vanderbilt has struggled offensively, there has been a common denominator in opponents. Length and athleticism.
First it was Memphis, who challenged Vanderbilt with switchable wings and shotblockers. Then it was Grambling State, most recently it was Auburn and LSU.
Stackhouse’s team has proven it can overcome the challenges that teams like the Tigers provide but it comes with a smaller margin of error, less offensive flow, and an overreliance on the 3 pointer.
The other end has been an issue as well against teams like the Tigers, as well.
K.J. Williams burned the Commodores for 35 points just days after Auburn’s physical forwards, Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams, combined for 37 points.
This hasn’t been a new development, either.
Robbins along with Quentin Millora-Brown have proven themselves as effective defenders and shotblockers but have also been challenged by more physical bigs such as D.J. Burns, Cartier Gordon, and Colin Castleton.
The blueprint to beat this Vanderbilt team is out and it gives the Commodores a significantly smaller margin for error in postseason play if it matches up with the wrong team.
