Vanderbilt 83-USC 71 Game Summary
- Vanderbilt jumped out to an 11 point lead at 15-4 in the first six minutes as the Gamecocks started 2-7 from the floor. The Commodores made three consecutive threes during the run.
- The Gamecocks missed their first eight three-point attempts and didn’t make their first three until the 9:12 mark of the first half.
- USC closed to within four points at 34-30 with a 7-0 run, but Vandy responded with an 8-2 run, and took a 42-38 lead into the break.
- Elijah Strong hit a jumper on USC’s first shot of the second half to make it a six-point game, but then the Gamecocks were outscored 12-1 over the next four minutes in which they missed five straight shots, including four triples, and trailed 54-37.
- South Carolina was not able to get stops most of the rest of the way and thus couldn’t put a run together until it was too late. The lead reached 18 at 65-47 on a Tyler Nickel three-pointer with 10:21 left as the Commodores were in the midst of a 5-6 shooting stretch.
- The Gamecocks got as close as ten with 33 remaining, but never got the lead into single digits.
- Vanderbilt came into the game third in the SEC in three-point shooting and first in defending the three. The Dores went 10-23 from distance, while the Gamecocks went 7-28.
- It was a hot and cold shooting day from outside for USC. After missing the first eight, the Gamecocks made their next five from downtown, then missed their next eight again.
- Five Vanderbilt players scored in double figures, and five different Commodores made at least one three-pointer. Tyler Tanner led the way with 19 points and a career high 14 assists. Tyler Nickel, who leads the SEC in made threes, hit four of them and finished with 16 points.
- Elijah Strong led the Gamecocks with 17 points. Myles Stute had three triples, but Meechie Johnson and Eli Ellis combined to shoot 1-8 from distance.
- The Gamecocks were beaten by 12 on the boards and did not block a shot. They were outscored in the paint 32-28.
- Vandy played without leading scorer Duke Miles (17 PPG), who is out with a leg injury, though he did travel with the team.
- The Gamecocks were without forward Christ Essandoko, who is out with an ankle sprain.
- USC is now 9-5 overall and 0-1 in the SEC and will play at LSU Tuesday night. Vandy is 14-0 and 1-0 in the SEC and will host Alabama on Wednesday night.
We’re going to know pretty soon, if it’s time for Donati to start looking for his first major HC hire. Lamont is a likeable enough coach, but it looks like 1/4 Zip was an appropriate nickname for more than one reason. In the 3.5 years that he’s been here, he’s won about 1/4 of the time in the SEC.