Vanderbilt didn’t just beat Wake Forest on Thursday night. It spent the second half showing what this team can look like when everything clicks.
The Commodores rolled to a 74-51 win in Nashville, moved to 2-0 on the season, and picked up their first power-five win of the 2026-27 campaign. Wake Forest hung around early and even got within four, but Vanderbilt blew the game open by outscoring the Demon Deacons 35-24 after halftime. The next test comes Tuesday, when Memphis visits Memorial Gymnasium.
For long stretches, Vanderbilt still looked like a team in the middle of becoming something. Then it found its gear and left no doubt.
That late surge was the clearest sign yet of just how dangerous this group can be. When Vanderbilt started playing like Vanderbilt, it separated fast.
The guard play got sharper, the shots started falling from everywhere, and the defense began choking off Wake Forest possessions. That stretch looked a lot like the version of the Commodores Mark Byington believes he can eventually build.
It also served as a reminder that this team still has work to do.
Wake Forest may not be as weak as its metrics suggested, but Vanderbilt also isn’t at the level it showed in its opener against Bellarmine. If the Commodores want to beat teams closer to them in talent, they’re going to need a cleaner, more complete product than what they showed for most of Thursday night.
The good news is that the pieces are there. The bad news is that they still have to fit together.
That was especially true in a game where Tanner was solid but not fully in rhythm for much of the night. He finished with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting and added a double double, but Vanderbilt didn’t need him to carry everything.
That mattered. Glass and Brown helped absorb the pressure, Bing hit shots and brought real defensive energy, and Vanderbilt controlled the glass by 15 rebounds.
Brown, in particular, gave the game a jolt.
The freshman scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting and 4-for-9 from 3-point range, and he looked like the most confident player on the floor once Vanderbilt began pulling away. His shot selection still has room to tighten up, but he’s already one of the best tough-shot makers on the roster. He didn’t blink against older guards, either.
Brown is going to have freshman moments this season. That’s part of the deal. But he also looks like the kind of player who can swing a game when Vanderbilt needs a burst.
Glass did plenty of that too. Before Brown took over, Glass was the one keeping Vanderbilt comfortably in front, finishing with 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting and 4-for-11 from deep. More than the numbers, he showed he can be a dependable second option behind Tanner and handle a bigger load when Tanner isn’t at his best.
That’s the bigger takeaway from Thursday: Vanderbilt has more than one way to beat you.
Tanner still matters, and he needs to be aggressive and near his best for this team to reach where it wants to go. But he doesn’t seem to be carrying the same burden he did a year ago. With Brown, Glass and Bing giving the Commodores real support, Vanderbilt at least looks like it has the beginnings of a deeper, more balanced team around him.
It may take time before all of it comes together. Thursday night showed both sides of that truth.
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 Exposed An Early Problem Wake Forest Cant Ignore
Wake Forests trip to face No. 24 Vanderbilt offered an early look at where the Demon Deacons still have work to do, and the answer came in the form of a frustrating loss that dropped them to 1-1. Kevair Kennedy led Wake Forest with 20 points, but the offense never found enough rhythm against a Commodores team that was able to control enough of the games key possessions to stay in front.
Tyler Tanners 17 points and 10 rebounds gave Vanderbilt a steady two-way presence, and the bigger story for Wake Forest was how much the margin came down to missed opportunities. The Demon Deacons struggled to make shots from outside and could not match Vanderbilts edge on the glass, leaving a clear early-season issue for the staff to sort through before the schedule gets any tougher. [Read more 🡒]