February 28, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Duke Miles (2) wants to pass the ball around Kentucky Wildcats center Malachi Moreno (24) during the first half at Roof Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Image No. No. 24 Vanderbilt is ranked No. 2 when the Commodores visit Knoxville in the team’s regular-season finale Saturday. Seeking revenge on 23 Tennessee.
The in-state rivals are vying for a No. 4 seed and a double-bye in next week’s SEC Tournament.
The Vols (21-9, 11-6 SEC) won 69-65 at Vanderbilt on Feb. 21. The Commodores (23-7, 10-7) gave Tennessee the lead for good until Nate Ament hit a contested jumper with 54 seconds left.
That marks the Vols’ eighth win in nine games, including four at Missouri and two at Knoxville to Alabama. Tennessee slipped away with a 78-59 win at South Carolina on Tuesday behind reserve JP Estrella’s 22 points and Felix Okpara’s 20 points.
The 6-foot-11 Estrella (9.8 points, 5.1 rebounds per game) played six minutes against Missouri and 22 minutes against Alabama after missing the Vanderbilt and Oklahoma games (both wins) with a foot injury.
Tennessee beat South Carolina without the 6-foot-10 Ament, who led the team in rebounding (6.4) and was second in scoring (17.4) due to a sprained ankle. It is unclear whether he will play on Saturday.
“If it were up to Nate, we would have played (Tuesday),” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said after the South Carolina game. “I’ve been telling you all year, he’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever met.”
Vanderbilt’s health has improved, but coach Mark Byington announced this week that Frankie Collins (7.8 ppg) is no longer with the team. He has not played since the Dec. 17 win over Memphis due to a knee injury.
The Commodores got second-leading scorer Duke Miles (16.0) back for his first game against the Vols after Miles missed the previous six games due to knee surgery. Vanderbilt is 2-2 since returning and Miles set career highs since returning in points (16) and minutes (36) in an 89-86 overtime win at Ole Miss.
Myles’ ball-handling skills take some of the pressure off Tyler Tanner (19.0 points per game), who came down with the flu last February. Tanner had a stellar performance in Tuesday’s win (44 minutes, 34 points, 7 assists, 5 steals). The Commodores’ largest lead of the second half was one point before Tanner accounted for 10 of the team’s 13 points in overtime.
“It took everything,” Miles later told SI to Vandy. “Our bigs got in foul trouble, we missed some chips, we couldn’t get the ball to bounce our way, but it didn’t matter, because good shooting nights, bad shooting nights, you know this team competes and keeps fighting.”
The Commodores are up against big, physical teams like the Vols, who are the best offensive rebounding team in the country according to KenPom. Tennessee held Vanderbilt to 43.3% on 2-pointers and had a 39-30 rebounding advantage in the first matchup.
Jalen Washington was a bright spot for Vanderbilt, recording eight points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in 26 minutes. However, he fouled out in four league games this season.
Washington has struggled to play physically and will look to get that level of effort from former teammate Jaylen Carey, who had seven points and seven rebounds against Vanderbilt two weeks ago.
The Vols’ Ja’Kobi Gillespie (18.0 points per game) and Vandy’s Tyler Nickel (13.9) are also key. Gillespie had 17 points in the first matchup while Nickel had a season-low three points and has scored below average in each of the last five contests.
–Field level media
