Vanderbilt Basketball Rolls Past Memphis For Third Win of Season

The Commodores took down an in-state rival to move to 3-0 on the season.

Nov 10, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Sebastian Williams-Adams (33) reacts after a made three point basket against the Memphis Tigers during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt men’s basketball continued to roll Tuesday night, beating in-state rival Memphis at home by a score of 105-81.

Both teams came out firing from the beginning. Memphis was going shot-for-shot with Vanderbilt for nearly the entire first half. The Tigers were hitting tough shots at the rim and in the midrange game while Vanderbilt put together a shooting clinic to begin the game.

The Commodores shot 63% in the first 15 minutes of the night while making seven of their first 11 three-pointers.

At one point, Vanderbilt looked like it was going to run away with the game early after it took a 40-31 lead, but Memphis came roaring back with a 9-0 run to tie the game. However, the Commodores ended the half up five at the break thanks to a buzzer beater from guard T.O. Barrett, giving his team a 47-42 lead.

In the second half, Vanderbilt found the recipe to pull away.

Vanderbilt guard Ace Glass went unconscious from the three-point line after halftime. The Washington State transfer hit his first four three-point attempts of the second half and even hit a fifth three all within the first seven minutes of the half.

Defensively, Vanderbilt locked in during the second half. The Commodores held the Tigers to two of their first 11 shots and one for their first seven attempts from three-point range. The Commodores started to control the rebounds in addition to their defense.

Vanderbilt’s explosion out of the locker room built a lead of 24 points at one point. Memphis did go on a scoring run to cut the lead to 15 points, but the Commodores were able to hold off the Tigers with a larger comeback from there.

For the game, Vanderbilt shot 57% and 15-for-32 from three-point range. From the free throw line, the Commodores made 18 of its 24 attempts. Vanderbilt’s leading scorers were Ace Glass with 23 points, Tyler Tanner with 17 points and Berke Buyuktuncel with 16 points.

It was an encouraging night from Vanderbilt, especially offensively.

The Commodores dominated on the rebounds from the beginning and ended up winning the battle of the boards 44-29. Once again, it was Berke Buyuktuncel that led the team in rebounds with eight of them.

Next up, Vanderbilt will look to continue its strong start later this week. The Commodores take on Prairie View A&M in Memorial Gymnasium at 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.

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