Heartbreak in March: Tanner’s Half-Court Attempt Rims Out as Vanderbilt Falls to Nebraska
In gut-wrenching fashion, the Vanderbilt Commodores lost to Nebraska 74-72 in the Round of 32. Vanderbilt star guard Tyler Tanner launched a shot from behind the halfcourt line as the buzzer sounded. The shot was perfectly on line before bouncing in and out of the basket. The horn sounded and the Dores season was over.
The contest started with Nebraska snatching momentum in front of a raucous red clad crowd. Chants of “Go Big Red” rained down all game. Vanderbilt fell behind 14-4 in the first five minutes. The Commodores clawed their way back despite poor shooting. Vanderbilt trailed 39-32 headed into the half. Nebraska shot 60% from the field and 60% from behind the arc in the first half. Vanderbilt shot 37% and just 3 of 15 (15%) from three. Tyler Tanner put the team on his back during the first half, scoring a game high 15 points.
It was a heavyweight fight in the second half. Both teams threw haymakers and both teams continuously responded. Vanderbilt closed the gap and eventually took their first lead of the game, 58-55, on an AK Okereke three, assisted by Duke Miles. Both teams traded punches until the game was tied at 72 with 40 seconds remaining. Vanderbilt had possession and a timeout. Mark Byington elected to not use his timeout, as he has done all season, and once again it cost the Commodores. Vanderbilt failed to get a good look and eventually attempted an out of control Chandler Bing driving shot. Bing missed and Nebraska rebounded the ball and passed it ahead Braden Frager, who finished a layup in transition, giving Nebraska a 74-72 lead with 2.2 seconds left. Vanderbilt took their final timeout and inbounded the ball to Tyler Tanner. Tanner fired the ball up from halfcourt as the final buzzer sounded and…
Heartbreak for the Commodores.
Vanderbilt’s season ends in gut wrenching fashion in the round of 32. Vanderbilt falls to Nebraska 74-72.
Box Score
Tyler Tanner was incredible and nearly willed this team to victory. Nothing I say here will do justice to how outstanding he was on the big stage. Tyler Nickel got it going from deep despite struggling early. Duke Miles really struggled, offensively and defensively. Led the team with 4 turnovers and went just 1-8 from deep. I’m not sure if his left hand was bothering him, but not the Duke Miles Vanderbilt fans were accustomed to watching. AK Okereke hit some key shots during this one, but had some major defensive lapses. McGlockton never really got involved offensively and went 0-4 from the free throw line. Washington had a really solid game, wish he would have been more assertive. Bing did not have his best performance but played with energy and was scrappy, similar to McGlockton.
That is the final recap of the 2025-26 Vanderbilt basketball season – what a season it has been. Thank you to everyone who has followed along and subscribed to TDR.
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