NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt will have to wait even longer for its first Southeastern Conference win of the season.

Hosting Arkansas on Saturday afternoon, the Commodores again couldn’t get over the hump and dropped a 92-71 decision to the Razorbacks at Memorial Gymnasium, leaving them still searching for a conference victory.

Vanderbilt – now 4-7 overall and 0-5 in SEC play – trailed by 10 at halftime and could never get in front in the second half as Arkansas (12-4, 4-4) led wire-to-wire. The Commodores shot 26 of 58 (45%) from the field, 6 of 22 (27%) from 3-point range and were led by 16 points from D.J. Harvey, 15 from Scotty Pippen Jr. and 14 from Max Evans.

"SEC basketball is very different than ACC basketball," Harvey – the transfer from Notre Dame – said. "I've just gotta let the game come to me and not force it. I just have to stay focused."

Moses Moody finished with 26 points for Arkansas, and Jalen Tate tallied 25.

VU will look to bounce back Wednesday as it travels to Florida for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff on the SEC Network.

Arkansas started hot and jumped out to a 9-0 lead just over three minutes in. Vanderbilt responded with six straight points to get within 9-6 and Pippen Jr.’s jumper made it 12-8, but the Razorbacks went up 10 at 18-8 at the 12:32 mark.

A 7-0 run by the Commodores – started by Evans’ 3-pointer – cut Arkansas’ lead down to 18-15, but Davonte Davis scored inside to make it 31-23 Razorbacks with 6:30 remaining in the first half.

Moody’s basket gave Arkansas a 37-29 advantage with 3:07 left, and it was soon up 45-35 at the break.

Arkansas stretched its lead to 73-55 at the 9:02 mark of the second half and never looked back, ultimately recording the 19-point win over the Commodores.

"At the end of the day, we're just doing dumb stuff – over, and over, and over again," Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse said.

Defensive woes

If one thing stood out Saturday, it was the way Vanderbilt played defensively.

The Commodores could never find a defensive rhythm, allowing Arkansas to shoot 57% from the field with 8 made 3s while also scoring 48 points in the paint. Additionally, Arkansas recorded 11 offensive rebounds to the Commodores’ 8, and dished out 22 assists on its 36 made shots.

Eight different players scored for the Razorbacks, and Moses Moody was getting whatever he wanted – finishing with 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He had multiple drives to the rim where he easily scored with little defensive effort shown by the ‘Dores.

"We're trusting our low man too much," Harvey said of the Commodores' defensive struggles. "We've gotta stay in our rotations and stay disciplined the whole game. It's mostly effort. It's just taking pride in the defensive end."

If it wants to win in the SEC, Vandy’s defense – from an overall perspective – must improve.

"I think, at this point, it's executing what you know how to do," Stackhouse said. "It's about taking pride and doing it. We talked about being square, but for whatever reason we get in the game and they attack us. Several times where we're not even seeing the ball. We've gotta clean some things up and find some guys that want to play basketball."

No Disu, big problem

Dylan Disu is a very important player for Vanderbilt. There’s no question about that. And when he doesn’t play, it mightily hurts the Commodores.

That was most certainly the case Saturday, as Disu was inactive and VU missed out on his 13.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Disu makes the players around him better when on the floor, and not having his leadership showed as the Commodores struggled on both ends against the Razorbacks.

Alongside Disu, Quentin Millora-Brown and Akeem Odusipe were also both inactive, leaving VU with Clevon Brown and Ejike Obinna as the only available big men.

"We should have 'Keem and Dylan back for Florida," Stackhouse said. "They were out with contact tracing."

NOTES:

– Vanderbilt started Scotty Pippen Jr., Jordan Wright, D.J. Harvey, Myles Stute and Clevon Brown.

– Dylan Disu, Quentin Millora-Brown and Akeem Odusipe were all inactive for the Commodores.

– The game was played with only family members of coaches and players in attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions, as has been the case all season at Memorial Gymnasium.