For a while Tuesday night at Memorial Gym, Vanderbilt’s men’s basketball was doing what it hadn’t this season. It was making things easy.
Cruising. Sinking jump shots. Rebounding. Having fun. Playing well. And about to actually make short work out of one of these early-season, mid-major foes.
But that’s just not how it works. Not usually. Not for Vanderbilt this time of year.
Before long, the visiting Spartans from UNC Greensboro sure enough started to resemble the ones coached by Tom Izzo, cutting an 18-point, second-half deficit to two with 2:50 remaining. Coach Jerry Stackhouse’s short-handed Commodores have already had too many of these stressful moments in a season that’s barely a week old.
This time, to their credit, it worked out.
Vanderbilt held on to win 74-70, surviving with 24 points and a 12-for-12 performance at the foul line from talismanic guard Ezra Manjon. Overall against the Spartans, the Commodores made 17 of 18 free throws, had a 44-31 rebounding edge and led for nearly 38 minutes. And it still almost wasn’t enough.
“We were fortunate to come out on the right end of that one,” Stackhouse said. “That was a very, very tough team.”
Don’t let name recognition sway you. This was a quality win for Vanderbilt (2-1).
On Wednesday, UNC Greensboro (1-1) was listed in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings (No. 126) only slightly below Vanderbilt (No. 120), which says something about how both teams are still perceived. It’s respect for UNCG, which was picked second in the Southern Conference by the league’s coaches, and a lack of esteem for Vandy.
Losing an opener to Presbyterian (No. 263) – picked last in the Big South Conference – will do that.
Last week’s 68-62 defeat to the Blue Hose, who’d gone 5-27 the previous season, was stunning and yet familiar at the same time. Stackhouse’s Vanderbilt teams are known to peak at season’s end, flourishing in February and March after scuffling through November and December.
Works great in the NBA, where a team can slowly build to the playoffs. Not so in college hoops.
Last season, Vanderbilt won 12 of its final 15 games, beating Kentucky twice and finishing tied for fourth in the SEC. It was worthy of being an NCAA Tournament team. But it was snubbed because of shaky early performances and, in particular, a loss to Grambling that was an awful lot like the loss to Presbyterian.
While taking a first step into a new season, the Commodores immediately tripped and fell into the exact situation they knew to avoid.
“We had a lot of excitement and momentum coming in from last year,” Stackhouse said, “and that’s what was disappointing for us.”
Vanderbilt players in the past have referenced the complexities of Stackhouse’s systems as a reason why it might take longer for his teams to get up to speed – and also why his teams are so successful once they do.
“We don’t try to start slow,” Stackhouse said Tuesday, emphasizing a clear commitment to his approach.
“We try to play the game and do things that we’re capable of, but we understand it. The good thing about me, I know who I am, right? We’re going to come in, and we’re going to try to get these guys better. … They’re going to get better the way you’ve seen them get better every year, but it just doesn’t happen from practices.”
This is a pivotal fifth season at Vanderbilt for Stackhouse. While he was named co-SEC coach of the year last season and is held in high regard elsewhere in the sport, it’s closer to home that’s becoming a problem. Stackhouse has yet to make an NCAA Tournament, and by now, he won’t get Vanderbilt’s fan base all the way on board until he does.
It’s fair for Vanderbilt fans to expect regular NCAA Tournament trips in men’s basketball. Since Eddie Fogler took over in the late 1980s, each of Stackhouse’s four coaching predecessors had made the NCAA Tournament at least once by the end of their fifth season.
“I think we’ve got an opportunity,” Stackhouse said, “just like last year. I know once we know what we’re doing, we can run off 10, 11 in a row. Hopefully, we can get jumpstarted a little sooner.”
It’s difficult to get a read on Vanderbilt’s late-season ceiling. We haven’t seen the full team yet. The Commodores have thus far played without three projected starters – guard Tyrin Lawrence (last season’s second-leading scorer) and forwards Ven-Allen Lubin (a Notre Dame transfer) and Lee Dort – because of injuries. They should be back in a week or so, Stackhouse said.
Yes, those absences have hurt.
Vanderbilt still had no business losing to Presbyterian, though.
It was only one loss, but that stain won’t come out easily. When you open by losing to Presbyterian, there are no more cakewalks. Every early game looms critical, even more so when the opponent is bad. The weight of additional nonconference defeats is already threatening to flatten the Commodores’ NCAA Tournament aspirations before Thanksgiving.
Last week in their second game, the Commodores trailed with 11:24 remaining before gutting out a gotta-have-it 74-67 victory over mighty USC Upstate (No. 288 in KenPom). Things got tense again at Memorial against UNC Greensboro. It wasn’t an elimination game. It just felt like it was, as if a season might hinge on each of Manjon’s free throws.
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“I think it’s just showing resilience,” Manjon said. “We have a lot of new guys, a lot of young guys. I think it’s good for their first three college games to go through a little bit of roughness and see how college basketball is.”
It’s a tough way to have to live through November, but it’s where the Commodores are right now.
Looking for respect, yes, but more so hoping to avoid losing too much respect too soon, thus leaving them unable to make enough back. Again.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at [email protected] and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.