Vanderbilt finally found a night that looked like the breakthrough it had been searching for.
The Commodores beat Wake Forest 74-51 on Thursday in Nashville for their second win of the season, and the final margin told the story of how much control Vanderbilt seized after a shaky opening stretch. The first half started messy, with sloppy play making the home team look out of sync for long stretches. But Vanderbilt steadied itself late, closed the half on a 9-0 run, and carried a 39-27 lead into the locker room.
That burst gave the Commodores the cushion they needed. Wake Forest made things interesting in the second half by trimming the lead to four, but Vanderbilt answered with another run to push the margin back into double digits. From there, the game tilted hard in the Commodores’ favor and never came back.
Vanderbilt’s starting group set the tone early, even with point guard Tyler Tanner off to a slow start. Wing Chandler Bing and shooting guard Ace Glass carried the offense in the opening half, combining for 19 points before the break. Bing scored nine, while Glass added 10.
Freshman guard Ant Brown Jr. gave Vanderbilt a lift off the bench in both halves. He knocked down four 3-pointers and added another basket inside the arc for 14 points.
Glass finished with 16 points, matching Tanner’s team-high total, while Brown Jr. added his 14. As a team, Vanderbilt shot 38.9% from the field and hit 10 of 27 from beyond the arc.
The other major edge came on the boards. Vanderbilt controlled the rebound battle from the start and finished with a 48-33 advantage over Wake Forest, a gap that helped the Commodores keep the Demon Deacons from ever fully settling in.
Vanderbilt returns to action Tuesday night, Nov. 10, when it hosts in-state rival Memphis at Memorial Gymnasium to complete the home-and-home series that began last season. Tipoff is set for 6:15 p.m. CT.
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 🡒]