Vanderbilt had enough of the sudden losing and did something about it on Saturday afternoon in Starkville.
After a 16-0 start to the season was rudely interrupted by a 3-game losing streak in SEC play, including a 25-point beatdown of a loss on Tuesday night at Arkansas, No. 15 Vanderbilt returned to the win column with a vengeance. An unranked Mississippi State took the hit by Vandy on its home floor, as the Bulldogs were overrun by the Commodores in an 88-56 whitewashing that emphatically put an end to that skid.
Vanderbilt improved to 17-3 overall and got back over .500 in SEC play at 4-3 with the road blowout. Sophomore guard Tyler Tanner led the Vandy onslaught with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Fellow starters Duke Miles (17 points), Tyler Nickel (13 points) and Devin McGlockton (10 points) also were in double figures for the Commodores, who rolled to a 51-30 halftime lead before cruising in the final 20 minutes.
Mississippi State fell to 10-10 overall and 2-5 in the SEC, allowing Vanderbilt to blaze away with 54% field-goal shooting while committing 17 turnovers. The Commodores feasted off those turnovers in turning a road SEC game into a laugher to get back on track.
No Mississippi State starter scored in double figures, with reserve Jayden Epps leading the way with 14 points.
Vanderbilt will try to keep it rolling against a suddenly hot Kentucky team, which travels to Nashville for a Tuesday night showdown that will tip off at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
