It appears that I, Blake Lovell, am in complete control of Vanderbilt basketball results.
If you don’t believe me, take a quick dive into my predictions for Vandy’s last six games:
- at Florida: Loss (Result: Win)
- vs. Arkansas: Win (Result: Loss)
- vs. Iowa State: Loss (Result: Win)
- at Texas A&M: Loss (Result: Win)
- vs. Ole Miss: Win (Result: Loss)
- at Arkansas: Loss (Result: Win)
As Kanye West once said, no one’s meant to have all that power.
But I’m not the only one that has struggled to figure out the Commodores this season. It’s certainly been an unpredictable first season for Bryce Drew in Nashville, but time and time again, his team has proven that it’s capable of beating anyone on any given night.
That trend continued on Tuesday night in Fayetteville. Coming off a surprising loss at Missouri, everyone thought the Razorbacks would rebound with a win in the friendly confines of Bud Walton Arena.
However, Vandy jumped on Arkansas early and never let up. Had that happened in the first meeting between these teams a few weeks ago, my streak wouldn’t be as impressive.
And then there’s the elephant in the room: Vandy earned this blowout win without its leading scorer on the court.
Matthew Fisher-Davis was suspended for the game due to a violation of athletic department policy. After seemingly getting past these issues earlier in the season, it’s discouraging to see another issue pop up at an important stage of the season.
When that news broke before the game, it felt like the Commodores would struggle.
Instead, they played one of their best overall games of the season.
And once again, it was a balanced scoring effort that fueled the Commodores. Five players scored between 11 and 13 points (Joe Toye, Luke Kornet, Jeff Roberson, Riley LaChance, Nolan Cressler), and those five all have one thing in common:
They’ve developed a toughness that’s paying off for Drew and his staff.
Cressler and Toye have made significant strides in conference play. Kornet and LaChance have continued to be leaders on the court. And Roberson keeps proving why he’s one of the most underrated players in the SEC.
Vandy has gotten the “soft” label in recent years. And although there are still frustrating stretches (see Ole Miss and even the last 5:48 of this game where Vandy went without a field goal), the Commodores have battled through adversity again and again.
Loss at home to Ole Miss? No problem. Playing without the team’s leading scorer? Still just fine.
Fans will zone in on wins and losses as an indicator of what type of progress a program is making. But in this case, it helps to look deeper than that.
Drew has dealt with discipline issues with a top player, roster issues with a new system and much more in year one in Nashville.
Despite all of it, he has Vandy improving in two crucial areas: confidence and toughness.
And in the long run, those two things will prove important for a program that’s looking to reach unprecedented heights in the Drew era.
Of course, me picking against them never hurts, either.
Blake Lovell has worked in sports media for over 10 years. He currently covers SEC football and basketball for various publications.