Vanderbilt fell at Alabama 103-87 on a night when nothing seemed to go the Commodores’ way.

Jason Edwards led Vanderbilt in scoring with 21 points while Mouhamed Dioubate and Aden Holloway each had 22 for the Crimson Tide. Likely All-American and contender for SEC Player of the Year Mark Sears pitched in 21 points and 7 assists for Alabama as well.

Vanderbilt got out to a hot start, getting up 7-2, but failed to put any distance between themselves and the Tide in the early minutes when Bama’s shots were not falling. Following this, Alabama went on a 20-4 run and never really looked back. Vanderbilt used a hot shooting second half to make pushes at a few points but Alabama responded each and every time. The ‘Dores got the game to within 8 with only 4 minutes to go but Alabama went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to put the game firmly away.

There were a few glaring weaknesses exposed by Alabama, chief amongst them Vanderbilt’s relative lack of scoring threats off the bench as well as an inability to deal with good length on the offensive end. Alabama’s bench accounted for 52 of their 103 points on elite efficiency. Holloway and Dioubate only missed 4 shots combined of their 20 taken. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s bench only scored 22 points. The ‘Dores really struggled to keep up with Alabama’s offensive production when their starters were off the floor.

This was the first time we really saw Vanderbilt struggle with a team’s size on the offensive end of the court. Instead Alabama’s size and length gave Vanderbilt fits all day, but especially in the first half. Look no further than Vanderbilt’s atrocious 37% shooting on non-three pointers to see just how much the ‘Dores struggled finishing in the paint over Alabama’s athletic, long centers and forwards. Alabama recorded 9 blocks in the game, almost doubling their average of 4.9 blocks per game as a team. Particularly in the first half, it seemed like every time Vanderbilt would get an easy look in the paint an Alabama forward would fly out of nowhere to either contest or block their shots. Vanderbilt could have easily opened up a double digit lead out of the gate but multiple times McGlockton, Nickel, or Edwards were stuffed at the rim on what looked like they should be easy looks. The Tide’s size did give some issues on the defensive side of things, too. It was too easy for Alabama’s forwards to back down a smaller Vanderbilt defender and finish over them, which they took advantage of several times. Interestingly, despite these issues, while rebounding has been an issue at times, Alabama only outrebounded Vanderbilt by 5 and only had 9 offensive rebounds to Vanderbilt’s 17.

Alabama also shot 34 free throws to Vanderbilt’s 18. Vanderbilt’s players and staff will not feel like they were done any favors by the reffing crew this evening, but the refs were not the primary reason for Vanderbilt’s loss.

For all of those negatives, this team once again showed real fight and managed to avoid an absolute blowout which would have really hurt their NET ranking. They could have easily laid down after Bama got up by over 20 and allowed things to get out of hand, but they fought back time and time again, they deserve credit for that.

Ultimately, tonight we saw the difference between a team in the first year of a rebuild and a team that has had its roster expertly cultivated by one of the best coaches in the country. While it is a disappointing result for the Commodores, they will have plenty of opportunities to win games down the stretch and this should not move the needle far in one direction or the other.

Vanderbilt will be back in Memorial to take on Kentucky at 1:30 PM this Saturday.