Memphis’ unbeaten start came to a hard stop Tuesday night in Nashville, where No. 22 Vanderbilt buried the Tigers 105-81 at Memorial Gymnasium.
The difference showed up fast after halftime. Memphis had hung around and trailed by just five at the break, but Vanderbilt ripped off a 23-7 surge to open the second half and turned a 47-42 lead into a 70-49 cushion in less than seven minutes. From there, the Commodores kept stretching the gap and never let the Tigers back into it.
Ace Glass III was the engine for Vanderbilt’s big second-half burst. He went scoreless in the first half, missing both of his shots and committing three turnovers, then came out firing after the break with back-to-back 3-pointers. Glass scored 19 of his 23 points in the first 7:18 of the second half and finished as one of five Vanderbilt players in double figures.
The Commodores were lethal from deep all night, hitting 15 of 32 from 3-point range. Memphis, by contrast, managed just four makes on 19 attempts from beyond the arc.
Luke Almodovar paced Memphis with 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting, along with four rebounds, a steal and a block in 24 minutes. Tylik Weeks added 15 points and two assists.
Jayden Reid, who was named the Associated Press national player of the week earlier Tuesday, scored 11 points on 4-for-11 shooting. Reid appeared to favor his left ankle after going down within the first two minutes, but he walked off under his own power and returned to play 30 minutes.
Brandin Cummings gave Memphis nine points off the bench on 4-for-7 shooting in what was his longest outing of the season.
The Tigers found some early answers by working inside and getting to the line. They scored 24 points in the paint in the first half and made 11 of 12 free throws before the break.
Almodovar also sparked a 9-0 run that pulled Memphis even at 40. Even so, Vanderbilt still took a 15-field-goal halftime tie in a different direction: both teams made 15 shots, but eight of the Commodores’ were threes while Memphis had just one.
Memphis’ ball movement never really caught up to the pace of the game. The Tigers finished with eight assists on 27 made baskets, and no player had more than two.
Vanderbilt also controlled the glass, winning the rebounding battle 44-29 and grabbing 32 defensive rebounds, more than Memphis had total boards.
The Tigers’ night got tougher in the second half when Almodovar fell and hit his head after a dunk attempt and went back to the locker room. He later returned to the bench but did not reenter the game.
Memphis also lost ground at the foul line after halftime. The Tigers missed just one free throw before the break, but went 12-for-22 in the second half and finished 23-for-34 overall.
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