Vanderbilt Nearly Pulls Off Miracle Comeback, But Defensive Woes Doom Commodores Against Slumping Sooners
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - For a few fleeting moments, it looked like Memorial Gymnasium was about to witness one of those unforgettable afternoons - the kind that lives in highlight reels and campus lore. Instead, Vanderbilt fans were left with a gut-punch 92-91 loss to an Oklahoma team that had dropped nine straight coming into Saturday.
This one stings. Not just because of the loss, but because of how it happened.
Vanderbilt trailed by 21 points with under five minutes left. The deficit was still 19 with less than 3:30 to go.
Even with under a minute remaining, the Commodores were down 10. But then Tyler Tanner happened.
Tanner, who finished with a jaw-dropping 37 points and nine assists, went nuclear in the final four minutes. Seventeen points in just under four minutes.
A flurry of threes, layups, steals, and free throws. And when he banked in a desperation three at the buzzer, it looked like the impossible had become reality - until you remembered what happened just seconds earlier.
Oklahoma’s Xzayvier Brown calmly sank two free throws with 3.4 seconds left, pushing the Sooners ahead for good. Tanner’s final shot made it close, but not enough.
A Rally That Almost Defied Logic
It’s hard to overstate how close Vanderbilt came to pulling off a comeback that would’ve been talked about for years. AK Okereke sparked the run with a three-pointer with 3:18 left, cutting the lead to 16.
Tanner followed with a layup and free throw. Then came the threes, the steals, the pressure defense.
With 33 seconds left, Tanner hit a jumper to trim the lead to six. He stole the ball seconds later and hit two free throws.
Another Oklahoma turnover, another pair of free throws from Tanner. Suddenly, it was a two-point game with 29 seconds left.
But the magic ran out there. Two costly turnovers - one by Mike James, another by Jalen Washington - short-circuited the comeback. And while Tanner hit two more threes in the final seconds, the damage had already been done.
Defensive Breakdown from the Start
As electric as the final minutes were, the first 35 told a very different story.
“This was our worst defensive performance of the year, maybe since I’ve been here,” head coach Mark Byington said postgame. “It was not good.”
He wasn’t wrong. Oklahoma came out firing, building a 24-8 lead early and taking a 48-34 advantage into halftime.
The Sooners shot 53.4% from the field and carved up Vanderbilt’s defense in the paint, scoring 40 points down low. They hit 22 of 37 two-point attempts - a staggering 59.5% clip - with many of those looks coming uncontested.
Byington didn’t sugarcoat it: “Our defensive intensity was not there until the game got away from us.”
The Sooners, despite entering the game tied for last in the SEC, looked like the team with everything on the line. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, had plenty to play for - including a potential run at the top of the conference standings and a favorable NCAA tournament seed - but came out flat.
“We just did not come out ready to go,” Byington said. “We were definitely a step slow and mentally just not right.”
Leaders Speak Up
Tanner and Tyler Nickel, two of the team’s most consistent voices, didn’t shy away from the reality.
“Coach was telling us we weren’t ready to play and that’s a hard position to be in,” Tanner said. “It really started from the jump ball.”
Nickel added, “We weren’t ourselves, our intensity wasn’t consistent during the game… it just wasn’t consistent today for whatever reason. We’ve got to figure that out.”
Nickel finished with 18 points. Okereke added 13. But the team’s energy - especially on the defensive end - was missing for far too long.
Injuries Continue to Shape the Backcourt
Vanderbilt was once again without guards Duke Miles and Frankie Collins, two of the team’s key ball-handlers. Miles has now missed three straight games, while Collins hasn’t played since December 17. Both are nursing knee injuries.
A source within the program indicated Miles could return soon - potentially within the next week. Collins’ timeline remains murkier, though there’s still hope he’ll be back before the season ends.
Byington acknowledged the uncertainty: “From everything I know, Frankie’s still doing rehab. I wish it was closer… They said four to six weeks and we’re at seven now. Maybe there’s something there holding him back, but we’re not giving up on him.”
The absence of both guards has forced the Commodores to adapt on the fly, with Tanner carrying an increasingly heavy load.
Tanner’s Grit on Full Display
Tanner’s 39 minutes on Saturday were gutsy in every sense. He played through a taped-up shooting hand - an aggravation of a summer injury - and still managed to hit 10 of 23 from the field and 14 of 18 from the line.
He admitted postgame that catching the ball was painful, especially after jamming his fingers on the backboard while attempting a block in the first half.
“I jammed this in the summer,” Tanner said. “It’s nothing too bad, just catching the ball hurts a little bit… I hit my fingers on the backboard.”
Even with the discomfort, he kept attacking. He missed four free throws in the first half - uncharacteristic for an 86% shooter - but responded with a second-half performance that nearly willed his team to victory.
What’s Next
The Commodores now face a critical stretch - five of their final eight games are on the road, starting with a tough trip to Auburn on Tuesday.
There’s no time to dwell. The SEC standings are tight, and every game from here on out matters. But if Saturday’s loss taught this team anything, it’s that effort and focus have to show up for all 40 minutes - not just the final five.
Because in this league, the margin for error is thin. And as Vanderbilt learned the hard way, comebacks are thrilling - but they don’t always come with a happy ending.