Vanderbilt forward Ak Okereke (10) and Tennessee forward Nate Ament (10) fight for the ball during the first half of the SEC Tournament quarterfinals Friday, March 13, 2026, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt’s Duke Miles scored 30 points and Tyler Tanner added 19 to lead the 22nd-ranked Commodores to a 75-68 victory over No. 25 Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament on Friday.
Both guards grabbed six rebounds, Miles added five assists and three steals and Tanner had four assists.
Miles went 11-of-14 from the floor and made 4 of 5 3-pointers for the fourth-seeded Commodores (25-7). The Commodores beat their in-state rival for the second time in seven days and advanced to top-seeded Florida on Saturday.
Vanderbilt had a 6:36 field goal drought late in the game, but got help with a bonus shot with 9:21 remaining. The Commodores shot 84.6 percent (22 of 26) from the foul line and 16 of 18 (88.9 percent) in the second half.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie paced fifth-seeded Tennessee (22-11) with 21 points and four assists, while Nate Ament and JP Estrella each added 12 points.
Ament, who scored 27 points against Auburn on Thursday after missing two games with a leg injury, had 11 rebounds but shot 1 of 13 from the field.
Tennessee stayed close thanks to a 46-34 rebounding edge, including 23 offensive boards and converting into 24 second-chance points.
Gillespie hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Volunteers a 45-38 lead with 14:51 left. This was the largest figure for either team up to that point.
Miles then took control over the next 3:03 minutes, including a pair of 3-point plays, a coast-to-coast fast-break layup, a steal and a fast-break assist to Tanner and a follow-up free throw, a rebound and a fast-break assist to Chandler Bing.
In the end, Vanderbilt led 53-48 with 11:21 left.
In a tight first half with the score tied at 31, neither team was able to build a four-point lead.
The Commodores missed their first nine 3-pointers until Miles hit one to give Vandy an 18-16 lead, its largest of the half.
Ament scored just one point in the Volunteers’ 14 first-half minutes and missed all five field goal attempts.
Vanderbilt, which also played on the road against Tennessee on Saturday, is 2-1 against its in-state rival this season.
– Chris Lee, Field Level Media
