A State Divided: The Story Behind Vanderbilt and Tennessee's Ever-Growing Rivalry

NASHVILLE – For the first time this season in Memorial Gymnasium, an opposing team’s logo colors were greyed out on the video boards. All the staff and pregame announcements echoed the same feeling towards the Commodores’ in-state rivals, “We don’t do orange.” Today, however, orange got the best of the black and gold.

A State of Tradition

In the state of Tennessee, orange is the color many claim to bleed. Knoxville has been home to the heart of the state’s college athletics pride for years. From Memphis to Bristol, you see the ‘Power T’ flying outside of homes and on car bumper stickers. But, in the last few years, the formerly called ‘little brother’ of the state has gotten the better of the orange and shown why it wears gold.

Today marked the 210th men’s basketball matchup between the two storied programs. Fans from across the state cleared their calendar in hopes of seeing an exciting SEC matchup, and the two teams did not disappoint. The game that was announced as sold-out nearly two weeks before tipoff ended up being one of the loudest inside Memorial Gym this season.

An Atmosphere to Revere

Some of the earliest Vanderbilt students to enter the stands were seen camping outside to ensure their spot near the front of the student section. They were rewarded with free Torchy’s Tacos for their efforts in an attempt to give the ‘Memorial Magic’ crowd an energy boost.

As the countdown to tipoff clock got lower and lower, the sense of anticipation grew in the stands. The tension was palpable. You could feel it in the air.

The first glance into the stands made many think that it was going to be a sea of that orange for today’s rivalry matchup. However, when tipoff rolled around, the crowd was divided approximately 60/40 in favor of Vanderbilt.

“The atmosphere obviously was great, it’s always great here,” Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes said postgame.

Not only does this game bring out all the fans from either side, but it also brings out sports stars from around the city. Members of the Nashville Predators were honored in the first half to a roar from fans in both teams' colors.

Fueled by Recent Drama

As the game got underway, the bad blood was taken to a new level anytime former Commodore Jaylen Carey touched the ball. Berated with boo-birds for his distasteful exit from the program a season ago to the in-state rival Volunteers, Carey heard it from the crowd all night long.

In recent years, Vanderbilt has begun making some noise not only in basketball but also in football. This past season, the Diego Pavia-led Commodores beat their cross-state rivals for the first time in seven years . Last season in basketball, the teams split the season series 1-1. The sense around the state, the SEC conference and the nation is that the Commodores are closing the gap to some of the tried-and-true powerhouse teams.

Today, however, the Volunteers showed why they lead the all-time season series 133-77, after winning 69-65. Both teams played high-level basketball, each led by their star point guards. Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner finished with 16 points while Tennessee’s Ja’Kobi Gillespie finished with 17.

More of the Same?

Throughout the game, Gillespie seemed to be finding open looks more often than maybe any player has playing against the great Commodores defense this season. A lot of that success came from the strategy the Vols have relied on all season: Screen and flare off the ball to get Gillespie open. Down the wire, it seemed like it was that game plan that gave Tennessee the edge late.

It was once again a battle of physicality that the Commodores struggled with in this Saturday afternoon matchup. Vanderbilt was outrebounded 39-30 and 14-8 on the offensive glass. That has been a theme for the black and gold this season that continues to cause it problems and will need to be addressed if they want to complete their aspirations of making a run in March.

The other problem that Mark Byington’s team seems unable to avoid is its foul trouble. AK Okereke, Jalen Washington and Devin McGlockton all finished the game with four fouls. Even though no Commodore player fouled out, it cost the team, with starters being forced to sit and be extra cautious late in the game in big situations.

Looking Forward, Not Back

The Commodores will wrap up their home season this Wednesday as they welcome the 19-8 Georgia Bulldogs into Memorial Gym for Senior Night. From there, Vanderbilt will end its regular season schedule with three consecutive road games; the last of which will be in Knoxville at Tennessee on March 7.

The Commodores won’t have the crowd on their side in any of those final three games, but will need to prove that they can play in tough environments heading into March.