Vanderbilt Commodores Star Sharpshooter Catching Fire at Perfect Time

A Vanderbilt Commodores' 3-point shooter has caught fire the last few games.

Vanderbilt guard Tyler Nickel (5) celebrates 3 points against Mississippi State during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In his first year as head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores, Mark Byington hit the portal hard to fill out a roster with limited returning players.

One of the top transfers he landed was Tyler Nickel.

After beginning his collegiate career with the North Carolina Tar Heels and playing sparingly as a deep bench player, he transferred to the Virginia Tech Hokies where he was a regular part of the rotation during the 2023-24 campaign.

Seeking another opportunity for his junior year, he signed with the Commodores where he has been a stalwart in the starting lineup all season.

Through 19 games, Nickel has been a consistent source of offensive production, averaging 10.6 points per contest. His production has not dropped off much during conference play despite a huge jump in competition, averaging 10.3 points.

Where he has really answered the bell all year is from beyond the 3-point line.

Vanderbilt has struggled shooting the ball from long distance, making only 33.1% from beyond the arc all season. Things have gotten worse during SEC play, as the team is making only 31.9%.

Despite the team’s struggles overall, Nickel has been doing his part to try and keep things afloat on his own.

On the year, he has knocked down a strong 38.5% of his long-range attempts, and through six conference games, he has bumped that number up to 41.7% on a healthy six attempts per contest.

Over the last two games, he has really caught fire.

Against the Tennessee Volunteers in one of the biggest upsets of the college basketball season, Nickel knocked down 4-of-7 3-point attempts. He followed that up with another excellent shooting night against the Alabama Crimson Tide, making 5-of-9 attempts.

A scorching 9-of-16 (56.3%) is an incredible feat; doing it against teams as talented as the Volunteers and Crimson Tide, two teams ranked inside the top nine of the AP Poll, makes it all the more impressive.

That makes nine times out of 19 games that he has knocked down at least three 3-pointers, as he and Jason Edwards are the only consistent threats the team has to stretch the floor; A.J. Hoggard is the only other player who averages at least one 3-pointer made per game but is shooting only 30.5%. 

Rising to the occasion is something analysts were unsure the Commodores could do against some daunting competition in the SEC after a soft nonconference schedule.

Nickel is doing his part against elite competition, and if his teammates follow suit, they are going to pick up some impressive victories over the next few weeks to bolster their resume for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.