Reflections From Vanderbilt Basketball's Win Over Alabama: A Trend, Devin McGlockton, Confidence

Vanderbilt basketball found a way to win over Alabama on Wednesday. Here's a few final reflections on that outing.

Vanderbilt forward Devin McGlockton (99) dives for a loose ball with Alabama guard Jalil Bethea (1) during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NASHVILLE—Here’s a stat that demonstrates the longevity of this Vanderbilt basketball team; Vanderbilt scored just four fastbreak points in its Wednesday-night win over Alabama. 

The number wasn’t what Vanderbilt wanted to lean into in a game between two of the nation’s best fast-paced offenses, but it was indicative of its growth in year two under Mark Byington relative to where it stood in year one of Byington’s tenure. 

If Vanderbilt was going to win a game like this a year ago, it would have to force somewhere around 20 turnovers and would have to get 15-20 points off of easy transition baskets. If it was stuck in a halfcourt battle, the playing field was too even for Vanderbilt basketball to knock off the SEC’s elite. 

Wednesday demonstrated Vanderbilt’s staying power as it makes a push for the SEC regular season title, though. It no longer needs to do all the little things well or pick off a multitude of free points to win on a given night. 

This program got proof of concept of that on Wednesday as Alabama–which is undoubtedly one of the SEC’s elite–outrebounded it 49-to-38, allowed it to shoot just 35% from 3-point range and got a number of its go-to guys in foul trouble. 

That wasn’t enough for the Crimson Tide to leave Memorial Gymnasium with a win, though. 

“We know that we’re one of the best teams in the country,” Vanderbilt forward Devin McGlockton said. “We’ve just got to keep pushing forward. We don’t care who we play. We just go out there and play our game.” 

A different edge, confidence

Vanderbilt doesn’t have as many big personalities as it did a year ago–which is generally considered to be a good thing–but it still appears to have a healthy competitive edge to it. 

This Vanderbilt team waited until after the game to let Alabama coach Nate Oats know that it didn’t appreciate his comments about their lack of a truly elite win prior to Wednesday night, but it wasn’t shy once its job was complete. 

"We heard what Nate Oats was saying before,” Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner said on TV, “That we didn't have a lot of good games before this -- we had some high-majors but no real good teams. We kind of took that personally. We knew how good of a team we were. We know how good we are, and we just wanted to show everybody tonight."

BELT PT. 15 💯💯💯 @tyler_tanner5 nd @Dukemiles10 REALLY REALLY GOOD💙
HOPE DIS COUNT AS A REAL GAME 😁

— Tyler Nickel (tnick) (@tnick_5) January 8, 2026

“a good team for the metrics” nah we serious.

— frankie💕 (@Frankiecollins0) January 8, 2026

Say what you will about Vanderbilt’s mental makeup, call it arrogance, but it clearly believes that it’s got something here. Watch the way it plays. Watch the way it speaks up for itself. 

How about Devin McGlockton?

The stories on an individual level are Tanner and Duke Miles, but Vanderbilt forward Devin McGlockton had a performance that was among his best of the season on Wednesday. 

McGlockton went for 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting and 12 rebounds as he was Vanderbilt’s primary dirty-work guy on Wednesday night. It was the type of performance that hammers home the point that McGlockton is elite in his role. 

This Vanderbilt team needs him. With his help, it just got its biggest win yet.