Takeaways From Vanderbilt Basketball's 92-62 Win Over Eastern Kentucky

NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt basketball moved to 3-0 on the season with Wednesday night's 92-62 win over Eastern Kentucky in which the Commodores trailed for just 46 seconds of game time.

Here's some takeaways from Vanderbilt's performance.

Vanderbilt continues to have no trouble with buy games

This thing wasn’t in doubt past the first few minutes, like Vanderbilt’s first game against Lipscomb.

It was very clearly better in just about every way. By the end of it, Vanderbilt outshot Eastern Kentucky 52.2% to 33.3% from the field, outrebounded it 48-33and led by as much as 30 at one point. It wasn’t quite as dominant as the Commodores’ performance against Lipscomb, but it was good enough to avoid any question as to whether that outing and Vanderbilt’s win over UCF was a fluke.

There wasn’t much to learn about Vanderbilt on Wednesday night. That was a great thing in terms of its stock.

The theory of balance is continuing to be proven correct

Just when it appears as if Vanderbilt has a guy stepping into the role that Jason Edwards left, a stark reminder of how this team is going to be intentionally different appears to pop up.

Vanderbilt guards Tyler Tanner, Duke Miles and Tyler Harris as well as Devin McGlockton and AK Okereke all scored in double figures on Wednesday night while none of them eclipsed 20 points. The final words of that sentence aren’t negative.

This Vanderbilt team can consistently push 100 points and it doesn’t need a 30-point scorer to do so. That appears to indicate that it has some staying power.

Duke Miles and Tyler Harris weren’t entirely flashy adds, but they’re what this group needed

A conversation with former Vanderbilt big man Will Perdue indicates his belief in the idea that Byington built his roster with players that nearly perfectly complemented his three returning scholarship players.

Miles and Harris weren’t all that highly ranked in the transfer portal, but were both players that Byington appeared to believe could take steps forward relative to their roles at previous schools. It appears as if his bet is paying off.

Wednesday night saw the pair step in to roles as two of Vanderbilt’s primary offensive options. They combined for 32 points and 12-for-20 shooting, which often included them creating their own shot. That matters.

Jalen Washington flashes what everyone has been waiting on

Washington and the Vanderbilt staff talked all about his ability to step out and shoot it this offseason, but that hadn’t shown up on tape throughout Vanderbilt’s first two games and two scrimmages.

The North Carolina transfer had attempted just one shot from beyond the arc prior to Wednesday night’s game and appeared to be passive on the perimeter. Wednesday he stepped out and made the only attempt he took.

That would be a significant boost for the Vanderbilt offense if it were to happen more consistently.

On Mike James’ role

James played just four minutes on Wednesday night after being out of the lineup completely on Saturday against UCF.

The minute distribution is a surprising turn for the Louisville turned NC State transfer that has all the ability within him to be among Vanderbilt’s most productive players. He appears to still be in the process of ramping back up after a year away from the floor, though.

James can help Vanderbilt, the question is when that will happen.