Texas upsets No. 10 Vanderbilt, hands Commodores first loss of season

For the second straight game, Texas took down a Top-10 ranked SEC opponent. This time, an unbeaten went down.

The Longhorns got it done on both ends of the court en route to an upset victory over Vanderbilt at the Moody Center – ending the Commodores’ 16-game winning streak to start the year. Vanderbilt had an early 16-14 lead over Texas in the first half, but that proved to be its final lead of the night.

Matas Vokietaitis and Tramon Mark led the charge for Texas, dropping 22 points and 21 points, respectively. Dailyn Swain also added 14 points and Jordan Pope had 12 as part of a strong attack. The Longhorns’ offense was impressive, shooting better than 54% from the floor.

On the Vanderbilt side, Duke Miles dropped a team-high 21 points while Tyler Tanner had 17 and Tyler Nickel had 10. Only two other Commodores scored in the effort – Devin McGlockton had nine and Tyler Harris put up three – as they shot 36.7% from the field as a group, including a 9-of-25 showing from three-point distance.

Texas held a 42-37 lead at halftime, but the Longhorns found a new gear after halftime. They outscored Vanderbilt 38-27 in the final 20 minutes and held the Commodores to just 1-of-10 shooting from downtown. UT also went 11 of 22 from the floor, recording six assists on those 11 made field goals.

Texas also had the rebounding advantage, pulling down 42 boards compared to 24 for Vanderbilt. Additionally, the Longhorns outscored the Commodores 30-14 in the paint.

Vanderbilt headed into Wednesday’s game as one of four undefeated teams left standing in college basketball. The Commodores have been impressive to start Year 2 under Mark Byington, entering the matchup with Texas ranked No. 6 in KenPom and No. 4 in the NET rankings.

For the Longhorns, it’s another marquee victory for Sean Miller and Co. Over the weekend, they took down No. 13-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa for their first SEC victory of the year. Now, Texas is 2-2 in conference play and 11-6 overall with its second consecutive win.

Texas will now get ready to take on rival Texas A&M on Saturday, hoping to get a third consecutive victory. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, will get ready to take on reigning national champion Florida as it looks to bounce back from its first loss of the year.