Things could not have gotten off to a better start for the Vanderbilt Commodores under their new head coach Mark Byington.
After dominating the early portion of their schedule against Maryland Eastern Shore, Southeast Missouri State, California, and Jackson State, they rolled into the first game of the Charleston Classic facing their first real test of the year against Nevada.
They passed that with flying colors.
Vanderbilt was able to put up points against a slow-paced Wolf Pack team, another good sign that this offense can operate effectively even if they aren’t in their preferred game state.
But with a spot in the championship game on the line against a stout Seton Hall team, this was another opportunity for the Commodores to prove they aren’t the same program they’ve been for the past few years.
They did exactly that.
Vanderbilt beat Seton Hall, 76-60, getting themselves to 6-0 on the season and into the championship game on Sunday where they’ll face a Drake team who also has a first-year head coach leading the program.
On Friday against the Pirates, the Commodores looked impressive again.
Following the opening stretch of the game where the two teams were going back and forth scoring the basketball, Vanderbilt put together an 11-point run that broke the deadlock at 15 and gave them the breathing room they held onto for the rest of the contest.
Those flurry of points and defensive stops have been present during the first two matchups of the Charleston Classic, something they will need to carry over into their game against Drake.
Vanderbilt was able to use that run to take a 10-point lead into halftime.
The Commodores never trailed again, riding the career night of junior guard Tyler Nickel to victory after he had a game-high 24 points on 50% shooting from the field with six 3-point makes on 13 attempts.
Two other players joined him in double figures.
Big man Devin McGlockton added 13 points and guard Jason Edwards scored 10, with everyone on the bench getting into the contest at some point.
Vanderbilt will look to continue their momentum and bring home some hardware in the championship game.
Tip off is at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
