Wake Forest spent most of the night hanging around with No. 24 Vanderbilt, but the Commodores found another gear late and walked away with the win. The loss drops the Demon Deacons to 1-1 to start the season.
Kevair Kennedy paced Wake Forest with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while Gavin Placide added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. For Vanderbilt, Tyler Tanner led the way with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The game tilted in Vanderbilt’s favor in the areas Wake Forest couldn’t control. The Deacs went just 6-for-26 from three-point range, a rough 23% that made it tough to keep pace.
Vanderbilt wasn’t blazing either, shooting 37% from deep, but it still knocked down 10 threes. Wake’s guards Justin Ray, Isaac Carr and Jamari McDowell combined to go 3-for-14 from beyond the arc, and that simply wasn’t enough production.
The problems didn’t stop there. Wake also shot only 35% on two-point attempts and hit just half of its free throws. When a team is trying to claw back into a game, those empty trips sting.
For a while, though, the Deacs were right there. After absorbing an early run, they trimmed the margin to three points with 3:30 left in the first half. Vanderbilt answered with a 9-0 burst to close the half, and that stretch gave the Commodores the cushion they needed heading into the break.
Second-chance points were a huge part of that push. Vanderbilt outrebounded Wake Forest by 15 and collected 17 offensive boards, including six late in the half. Those extra possessions kept the pressure on and made Wake pay.
Even with the offensive struggles, Wake Forest showed some fight on defense. The Demon Deacons held Vanderbilt without a field goal for roughly a four-minute stretch in the first half, limited the Commodores to 39% shooting overall and blocked six shots.
There were encouraging signs in that defensive effort, but the offense still has work to do. Wake looks more disruptive on that end than it did a year ago, yet the next stretch will be about getting more comfort and consistency on offense. The Deacs now have four softer home games before heading to the Bahamas around Thanksgiving.
In Other News...
Davin Chandlers New Role Is Becoming A Big Vanderbilt Answer
Davin Chandlers shift from safety to full-time cornerback has quietly turned into one of Vanderbilts more encouraging personnel moves this season. The change gave the Commodores another player who fits their man-coverage demands, and it has shown up in his increased snaps and steady play on the outside. Coaches Clark Lea and Steve Gregory have both pointed to Chandlers skill set as a strong match for the position, and the results have made him one of the more dependable pieces in the secondary.
Chandlers rise matters because Vanderbilt is trying to build something more stable on the back end, and his development gives the defense another young corner it can trust. He is currently the teams fifth-highest graded player in coverage, which says plenty about how quickly he has settled in. For a defense looking for answers and a clearer identity in the secondary, Chandler has become part of the solution rather than just a depth option. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Faces A Discipline Problem It Cant Afford This Week
Vanderbilts season has been dragged down at times by self-inflicted mistakes, with the Commodores sitting near the bottom nationally in both penalty yards and total penalties. That kind of sloppiness has become a recurring issue, and it is exactly the sort of thing Clark Lea has been trying to clean up as the team heads into another important week. The focus, he said, has been on discipline and communication, especially on offense, where timing and clarity can make the difference between staying on schedule and backing up into trouble.
There is at least some good news on the availability front, with several players trending in the right direction for the next game. Brian Allen Jr., Jamison Curtis and Jaylin Lackey were all listed as probable on the first injury report of the week, and Vanderbilt will need as many healthy bodies as it can get while trying to sharpen its execution. Lea also pointed to progress with quarterback Jared Curtis, a sign the staff believes the operation can still tighten up in time for the challenge ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt Finally Showed What This Roster Could Become
Vanderbilts early-season progress got a real test against Wake Forest, and the Commodores answered with the kind of second-half push that has been easy to imagine but harder to see in full. The win moved them to 2-0 and delivered their first power-five victory of the 2026-27 season, a useful marker for a roster still trying to define itself and build some week-to-week trust.
Brown and Glass were central to the surge, giving Vanderbilt the kind of production it will need when the schedule stiffens. Even with the encouraging result, consistency remains the bigger question, and the next chance to sharpen that edge comes quickly with Memphis on deck. [Read more 🡒]