Tyler Tanner registered 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists as No. 5 Vanderbilt earned a 78-68 victory over No. 12 McNeese in Thursday’s NCAA Tournament first-round South Region matchup in Oklahoma City.
Devin McGlockton scored 12 points on perfect 6 of 6 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds for the Commodores (27-8), while Duke Miles added 13 points and Tyler Nickel finished with 12.
It’s Vanderbilt’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2012.
Garwey Dual led the Cowboys (28-6) with 16 points and six assists. Southland Conference Player of the Year Larry Johnson scored 15, but was 4-for-17 from the field, while Tyshawn Archie scored 13 and Javohn Garcia chipped in 10.
McNeese got the game it wanted — it won the turnover battle, 13-6, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds — but was outshot 51.0% to 36.2% from the field.
Miles and Nickel hit consecutive 3-pointers to give the Commodores a 45-35 lead, with 18:12 remaining.
The Cowboys got as close as three, but Archie, a first-team All-Southland guard, went to the locker room with 4:21 left with a cramp and didn’t return.
Tanner hit a step-back 3 on the Commodores’ next possession, extending the lead to eight with 3:51 left. McNeese, in the midst of a 6:30 field-goal drought, never got closer again.
Vanderbilt led 38-35 at halftime, with 10 points from McGlockton, mostly on open lay-ups after a teammate exposed a weakness in the Cowboys’ 1-3-1 zone defense. Thirteen of the Commodores’ 14 first-half buckets were assisted.
McNeese took an early 16-5 lead on Johnson’s jumper just 4:47 into the game. The Cowboys took 11 more shots than Vanderbilt in the first half thanks to 10 offensive rebounds and an 8-3 advantage in turnovers.
Vanderbilt will face Nebraska on Saturday. The Cornhuskers won their first NCAA Tournament game in school history with a 76-47 pasting of Troy.
