Vanderbilt shot 36.8 percent from the field and committed 22 turnovers, as the Commodores were blown out at Oklahoma in Norman’s Lloyd Noble Center, 86-55, on Saturday afternoon in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Saben Lee led the Commodores in scoring with 24 points. Vandy (9-10) dropped below .500 for the first time all year, and has lost seven straight.

Christian James (21), Brady Manek (16) and Rashard Odomes (14) led the Sooners, who improved to 15-5.

VU never got closer than 16 in the second half. OU’s biggest lead came at the buzzer.

Fresh off a bitterly disappointing overtime loss to top-ranked Tennessee, Vanderbilt looked as if would build on that performance early. It went ahead 16-14 off Yanni Wetzell’s steal and lay-up at 12:08.

And then the bottom fell out.

Oklahoma went on a 13-0 run, keyed by three Odomes lay-ups, until the Commodores took a time out with 8:12 left.

The stoppage in play changed nothing.

Vandy continued to struggle on the offensive end and then Manek hit back-to-back 3s before the ‘Dores, now trailing 33-16, took another time out.

OU eventually extended that lead to 21 before it took a 41-23 edge to the locker room.

It won’t get easier for the Commodores. They’ll face No. 8 Kentucky at 8 Central at Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday. The Wildcats beat Vanderbilt, 56-47, in the earlier meeting this season.

You had to squint to find positives.

I thought several players continued to give effort until the final horn, though nothing was going VU's way.

The Commodores also fouled just 13 times, though that had a lot to do with OU knowing how to attack VU defensively.

VU was truly miserable on both ends of the floor, and it made for the team's worst loss of the year.

Defensively, Oklahoma spread Vanderbilt out and had its way with the Commodores. In the first half, that came mostly on lap-ups and mid-range floaters.

In the second half, that came more on jumpers in the range of about 7-13 feet. OU probably hit more shots of that variety than any other team has against the Commodores this season.

And it didn't matter who OU had in the ballgame--starters, seldom-used reserves, whoever, other that starting guard Jamal Bienemy (who didn't score on a 4.6-point average), they all had some success.

Offensively, Vanderbilt was a mess, with more turnovers (22) than made field goals (21) and just seven assists. Several turnovers--I'm thinking specifically of a few bad passes--were entirely preventable with better concentration.

Making things worse, the Commodores missed umpteen lay-ups, the problem seeming to spread throughout the team like the plague as the day wore on and players lost confidence.

And then, there were just flat-out bad shots, with players taking long or off-balance shots that they rarely make much of the day.

The Commodores should have had a better plan to get more looks for Aaron Nesmith, who scored 23 on Wednesday. Right now, Nesmith is VU's best player, but he got just six field goal attempts (hitting three).

The fact that VU's starting point guard was the Player of the Game despite having six turnovers to three assists tells you how bad Saturday was. Other than that, Saben Lee played really well, leading the team in points (24), assists, rebounds (eight) and steals (three).

For a team that generated next to no offense at times, Lee looked like the only real threat to score.

VU started Lee, Nesmith, Moyer, Wetzell and Shittu for the second straight game.

Nesmith hit a 3 just 69 seconds into the game to extent VU’s 3-point streak to 1,050 games.