Texas Longhorns Crumble Late, Fall to Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville

The Texas Longhorns are stumbling down the SEC standings during the most pivotal point of their season.

Texas dropped its second straight conference game Saturday in Nashville, as the Vanderbilt Commodores closed out the Longhorns for an 86-78 win. The Longhorns led by as many as 10 in the second half but went ice-cold from the field down the stretch.

Vanderbilt guard Jason Edwards finished with 17 points and helped the Commodores during their late-game surge, but it was forward Jaylen Carey who set the tone with a career-high 18 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Michigan State transfer A.J. Hoggard fought off a slow start before ending with 14 points and six assits.

“They got us on the glass. In this league, you can’t give up second-chance opportunities," Texas head coach Rodney Terry said, per Brian Davis of A to Z Sports.

Texas guard Tre Johnson tallied a team-high 15 points and five assists. Arthur Kaluma had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Kadin Shedrick (12 points), Julian Larry (11 points) and Jordan Pope (11 points) all finished in double figures. Devon Pryor added nine points off the bench.

Feb 8, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard AJ Hoggard (11) lays the ball in against the Texas Longhorns during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Longhorns were without veteran guard Tramon Mark, who is dealing with a right shoulder injury.

Texas led 65-61 with 6:51 after a 3-pointer from Jayson Kent but the Commodores used a 10-0 run to take command, which won them the game. The Longhorns never led from this point on and went over six minutes without hitting a field goal in the closing stages of the second half.

After jumping out to a 7-0 lead in front of the opposing fans, Texas started to get dominated on the glass early, as Carey continuously muscled his way through Texas defenders for loose balls. This helped spark Vandy to a 12-0 run that gave the Commodores a 20-12 lead at the 10:47 mark.

The Longhorns answered, as triples from Pope and Shedrick kept the lead from swelling and swung momentum completely in Texas' favor. Rodney Terry's group closed the half on a 15-2 run and headed into halftime up 39-35.

Coming out of the locker room, the Commodores recaptured momentum and took back the lead at 40-39 with a 5-0 run. But just like in the first half, the Longhorns responded. Texas used a 10-0 run to take a 54-44 lead with 14:04 to play, and appeared in prime position to close out the game after Johnson and Pryor connected on a pretty alley-oop in transistion.

Instead the opposite happened, and Terry's squad will certainly remember this one.

The Commodores chipped into the lead thanks to a late burst from Hoggard before Edwards scored eight points during the game-changing 10-0 run. Vanderbilt had turned a 10-point deficit into a nine-point lead in the final seconds.

Things don't get any easier for the Longhorns, who will host No. 3 Alabama and No. 14 Kentucky in their next two games.

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