Vanderbilt Has A New Early Test As Rotation Questions Grow

Vanderbilt looks to maintain their undefeated start as they host Prairie View, focusing on team improvements and adapting to key player absences.

Vanderbilt gets another chance to keep rolling tonight, and the setup is straightforward: a home buy game at Memorial Gymnasium, a chance to move to 4-0, and another test of whether the Commodores can keep the ball zipping the way it did against Memphis.

The No. 22 Commodores meet Prairie View at 6 p.m.

CT on SEC Network+, coming in off a statement win Tuesday. Vanderbilt beat Memphis 105-81 and did most of its damage after halftime, when the offense finally started clicking in a way that matched the talent on the floor.

Ace Glass was a major part of that surge, especially in the second half, when Vanderbilt showed the kind of scoring balance it wants to lean on.

“The first couple games, I just thought we did too much individually. And the ball really moved tonight and it found the open,” head coach Mark Byington said on the performance. “It was the threes, it was the layups, it was our shot quality.”

That’s the version of Vanderbilt that has looked best so far: less isolation, more movement, cleaner looks. Against Memphis, the Commodores shot 57% as a team and buried 15 three-pointers, with the ball movement creating the space for those open shots.

Prairie View arrives at 2-2 after a 98-63 loss to SMU on Tuesday. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is 3-0 and trying to keep its early momentum intact.

There is one roster note to keep in mind: Byington said after Vanderbilt’s win over Bellarmine in early November that Gabe Nesmith will be out for the first couple of months of the season and potentially the whole year.

Who: Prairie View (2-2) vs. No. 22 Vanderbilt (3-0)

Last time out, Vanderbilt: beat Memphis 105-81

Last time out, Prairie View: lost to SMU 98-63

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