Is This The Last We’ll See of Vanderbilt’s In-State Rivalry Against Memphis?
NASHVILLE— Outside of UTK, Vanderbilt Basketball’s biggest rivalry might just be the Memphis Tigers.
The two schools met Tuesday, in a bout that was highlighted by Vanderbilt’s Ace Glass and his 23 point performance, all of which came in the second half (yes, you read that right). The matchup was also full of highlight-reel plays and booming crowd noise that undoubtedly reminded fans of Vanderbilt’s journey to March Madness last season. And somehow, the game’s scoring was kicked off by a Memphis dunk.
Fortunately for the Commodore faithful, Tyler Tanner quickly had a response of his own that swung the momentum back in Vanderbilt’s favor, and they never let off the gas. His first two baskets of the day came off drives into the lane that ended in fiery dunks, which showcased a hot start for Tanner that some felt he lacked in Vanderbilt’s last game against Wake Forest.
These types of crowd-popping moments have been aplenty in the recent years of Vanderbilt vs. Memphis face-offs, and are one of the reasons that many hope the in-state series continues in the coming years.
When asked about the future of Vanderbilt vs. Memphis, head coach Mark Byington was quick to comment about the meaning of the matchup as a whole.
“When I got the job here, I wanted to play Memphis,” Byington told the media. “It’s the end of the [home-and-home] contract, but we’ll definitely be talking to them again. In college basketball, you need games to get the fans going, and this game gets the fans going on both sides.”
The rivalry seems to justify keeping the Tigers on the schedule. In the 90s, the Memphis game was a staple of Vanderbilt’s schedule, and one that produced consistently tight results. In fact, 13 of the previous 17 meetings between the two schools have been decided by single digits – including the three most recent games (in 2022, ‘23, and ‘25).
After consecutive made 3s by Tanner and Sebastian Williams-Adams late in the first half, the Memorial Gym crowd was the loudest it’s been all season. A Memphis timeout quickly followed, which only added to the atmosphere. This is what makes this matchup so important. For a school that frankly struggles with bringing energy to non-conference games, Tuesday night felt like a heated SEC bout with tournament implications on the line – “good for the fans” as Mark Byington says.
And for a squad that is looking to make a deep run this March, nothing will prepare them better than early contests like this. It’s like how teams pump in crowd noise during practice to prepare for big nights. Except in this case, Vanderbilt’s ‘practice’ for pivotal SEC games is a non-conference matchup with comparable energy.
In Vandy’s last contest against Wake Forest, I wrote about how the atmosphere didn’t justify the magnitude and level of play throughout the night, even if it’s still early in the season. The crowd-pops that echoed throughout Memorial Gym made sure that wasn’t the case on Tuesday.
The game was actually the first time in years that a contest between the two schools wasn’t relatively close. What looked like it would be a shootout after the first half turned into a Vanderbilt shooting clinic led by Glass and others (Buyuktuncel ended with 16 points).
The bottom line is Vanderbilt vs. Memphis is an in-state rivalry that consistently produces close scores, or at the very least electric individual performances, with an atmosphere that rivals big-time SEC games. This is an important school to keep on Vanderbilt’s out of conference schedule, for players and fans alike.
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Mikey attends Vanderbilt University, where he’s covered football and men's basketball games for the VandyRadio and Hustler newspaper. He discovered his love for athletics growing up in Montana, and runs a fantasy football podcast when he’s not busy skiing or cliff jumping.