Let's Go! Tennessee made the trip across the state to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym on Saturday afternoon, and the Vols are leaving town with a 69-65 victory over the Commodores. It was never going to be easy, and it wasn't, but the win feels extra special knowing that this is the best Vanderbilt team in years, and the Vols still managed to snag a road win. Rick Barnes' squad has now won 9 of their last 11 games, with both losses coming on epic collapses to Kentucky.
Tennessee got it done today, even with their best player having a mediocre game. Nate Ament wasn't having his best night; he had 13 points and was 3-13 from the field, but a clutch shot with less than a minute to go put the Vols in the lead. From that point on, Tennessee locked up on defense and cruised to a huge rivalry win.
It was great to see other players step up. Dewayne Brown II was great defensively and added four rebounds, a steal, and a block. In a gritty game like today's was, it's players like Brown who are the difference makers, and if he wasn't out there on the floor today, Tennessee probably doesn't win. The Vols also did a great job taking care of the basketball, only giving it up nine times. When Tennessee can take care of the ball, they get up more shots, which leads to more rebounding opportunities for second-chance points.
AP Poll here Tennessee comes
With the road win over Vanderbilt and a victory over Oklahoma on Wednesday, there should be no reason why the Vols aren't ranked in next week's edition of the AP Poll. It marks four straight wins, all against SEC opponents.
Tennessee just made major moves, too, when it comes to March Madness seeding. The Vols are hovering around a No. 5 or No. 6 seed, while Vanderbilt currently sits at No. 4, so picking up a rivalry win that also boosts your tournament seeding doesn’t get much better than that. Tennessee will be back at it on Tuesday, where they will take on Mizzou in Columbia.