Vanderbilt Basketball Was Immune to Road Challenge When Seemingly Nobody Else Was; Column

The first-half stretch in which Vanderbilt put walk-on guard Miles Keeffe, Chandler Bing, Tyler Nickel, AK Okereke and Jalen Washington on the floor together in an effort to eat a few minutes was indicative of what it was up against on Saturday afternoon.

Vanderbilt’s lineup included Okereke–who has experience as a ballhandler and has plus passing ability, but is more often utilized as a four man–and Keeffe running point guard. It included two players that are, at the very least, not fixtures in its rotation.

That lineup wasn’t quite a necessity due to the depth that Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington has built within his year-two roster, but it wasn’t all that much of a stretch to say that he would have to get unconventional and a tad weird to find a way to leave Columbia with a win on Saturday.

Kansas lost on the road to UCF, North Carolina was blown out on the road at SMU and Houston had to grind it out at Cincinnati. It's the natural rhythm of things this time of year that elite teams will struggle with teams below their weight class once they hit the road. Vanderbilt didn't have that problem, though.

“It was obviously a hard-fought game,” Byington said after the game in his radio hit. “We had a short bench and there’s different things that come when you’re on the road. I thought our guys just showed a belief.”

A lineup like Vanderbilt had to turn to the result when you’re without two of your three primary ballhandlers in Duke Miles and Frankie Collins. It’s what happens when you’re embarking on a gauntlet like Vanderbilt is set to face once SEC play really gets rolling.

It didn’t matter what the lineups were like on Saturday or what the final margin would be, Vanderbilt just had to win. If it didn’t, South Carolina likely would’ve dropped it significantly in the NET rankings and would’ve handed it a loss that didn’t end up favorable on its rèsumè when this was all said and done. The Gamecocks will likely finish last or close to it in the SEC, but they made sure to let everyone in the surrounding area know how important this game was to them–South Carolina guard Meechie Johnson went as far as to pay out of his own pocket to get 50 South Carolina fans to the game.

After all, this is a league game on the road. It had the feel of big bad Memphis going on the road in AAC play or Gonzaga going on the road in WCC play more than any road game Vanderbilt has played in the league in recent memory, but it was a conference road game nonetheless. Vanderbilt had more to lose on Saturday than it had to gain and appeared to know that.

On an individual level, its players also appeared to know that more would be required of them with Miles 17.1 points out of the lineup and Collins’ continued absence. Someone had to step up.

The good news for Vanderbilt; multiple pieces answered the call seamlessly as the Commodores put together their first double-digit road win in SEC play since 2023.

With two of Vanderbilt’s three players averaging more than four assists per game out of the lineup, Tyler Tanner took their roles in stride as he went for double-digit assists for the first time in his career and for the first time in Vanderbilt history since 2021 when Scotty Pippen Jr. did it. Tanner answered the call to take on more self-creation with 19 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field and 10-for-10 shooting from the free throw line.

In the end, Tanner tied the program record for assists.

“I just played inside myself and I had more opportunities to find the open guy,” Tanner said. “I wouldn’t say it was anymore pressure. I just got more opportunities to play in more pick and rolls.”

Jan 3, 2026; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Tyler Tanner (3) brings the ball up against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

A day like Saturday has always been within Tanner’s wheelhouse, but it’s never been required of him because of Vanderbilt’s abundance of old guards on the roster that can take some of the pressure off of him. That was the type of day in which NBA evaluators fixate on. Tanner seemingly always made the right play, yet he was still aggressive and attacked South Carolina all afternoon.

Okereke also answered the call and looked like the player that Vanderbilt often watched on tape last season at Cornell. Instead of sliding into a complementary role like he’s done for the majority of the 2025-26 season, Okereke turned initiator and primary offensive option on Saturday as he went for a season-high 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field.

Pair those performances with Tyler Nickel’s 16-point outing and Devin McGlockton’s 15-point showing and Vanderbilt glided to a finish on Saturday.

It wasn’t a game that will move the needle when this is all said and done, but it was one that continued to demonstrate Vanderbilt’s staying power as it enters an increasingly different SEC schedule.

Saturday’s showing was good enough for Byington to laugh it off when Johnson was bumped over to the sideline and almost ran into him. On a day in which an abundance of wacky outcomes came on the road for college basketball's best teams, Vanderbilt was immune to everything but a bit of cramping down the stretch of Saturday's game.

Time for pickle juice to avoid the cramps and milkshakes to celebrate.

“They’ll remember that,” Byington said.