Out Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball team proved once again what a high quality outfit they are as we defeated Yale, 71-62, on Tuesday Night before 5,290 fans at Memorial Coliseum in Nashvegas.

Junior Tyrin Lawrence was superb again going for 25 points and 7 boards. Tyrin was 7 for 13 from the field, including 3 for 5 from trifecta. Tyrin just continues to excel. That “One Shot” spot on the court, in the right corner from three, is Tyron’s electric spot. He’s awesome from everywhere. He’s a tremendous shooter, both on driving and finishing at the rim, and taking it from mid range or deep. TL is a solid defender as well, and so quick. Tyrin is also an excellent free throw shooter now. He was 8 of 9 from the stripe Tuesday Night. He is now at 74% from the line, but has just kept progressing and gotten better and better from the stripe. I totally trust the man in clutch time from the charity stripe.

We moved to 21-14 on the season and now host Michigan at Memorial Saturday at 11 AM CT. The game will be televised by ESPN.

The great Ezra Manjon added 18 against Yale. Jordan didn’t have his greatest game with 6 points, but gave us 5 boards and a lot of hustle plays, which he always does. I loved what I saw from Q, Quinton Millora-Brown. Q posted 6 points and 13 rebounds. That’s awesome. Q just does the little things like Stack always says. He’ll make a clutch pass, take a charge, and I see him as capable of giving us double-doubles going forward. He does everything that helps our team be successful. He’s just getting more and more confident each time out. And he’s coming back next season. He’s becoming a real stud and will surely be one next season.

Freshman Colin Smith is excelling and living up to his 93, 4 star status. Colin went for 7 points, but they were important points. He gives us power on the boards and defensively and also is becoming an excellent 3 point shooter and scorer. Collin is another guy who just keeps getting better and better under Stack. I’m excited to keep watching him Saturday, and hopefully deeper into the NIT, and next year for sure.

Backup point guard Paul Lewis is another freshman we should be excited about. Paul just keeps improving as well. He’s a confident player. He is never afraid to put up a three and he’s accurate. Love what Paul can give us the rest of this season and next year. Lee Dort, Noah Shelby and Malik Dia are highly promising freshmen players for the future. They may give us some help this postseason, but, if not, their high ceilings are exciting for the future. Trey Thomas can still help us from trifecta and with hustle plays. Believe in our tough little guy.

Myles Stute is in the transfer portal. Myles’ skills were just not there at the end of the season and Colin was starting to take his minutes. Wish Myles the best. I’ve read and heard where J Wright could return next season with a slot opening up. That would be really awesome.

Michigan defeated Toledo Tuesday Night at home, 90-80. They moved to 18-15 overall. They finished 11-9 in the Big Ten. They’re solid under 4th year coach Juwan Howard. Coach Howard was a member of the “Fab Five” in the early ‘90’s, with Chris Webber and company.

Seven foot one inch, 260 pound junior center Hunter Dickinson, leads the Wolverines scoring averaging 18.4 points per game and adds 9 rebounds per contest. Q will have to bring his hard hat on Saturday. I know Q will. Q’s no slouch at 6’10”, 245. Jett Howard, a 6’8”, 215 power forward, averages 14.2 points and 3 boards. Six foot, four inch, 195 pound guard Kobe Bufkin averages 14 point, 4 1/2 rebounds and has added 96 assists in 33 games, over 3 per game. Point guard Dug McDaniel, a freshman, averages 8.3 ppg and has dished out 119 assists, 3.6 per game. In Tuesday Night’s victory over Toledo, Bufkin went for 23, and pulled down 8 boards along with dishing out 5 dimes. Dickinson went for 19 and 9. McDaniel went for 16 along with 8 assists. And Joey Baker, a 6’7”, 205 forward, who only averages 5 points per game, went for 21.

They shoot 45 percent from the field, 35% from 3, and 71% from the line. They average 36 rebounds per game while giving up 35.7. Defensively, opponents are 42.5% shooting from the field and 32% from trifecta. They have key victories in the Big Ten over NCAA Tournament teams Maryland, Michigan State and Northwestern, twice. So they’ll be a major challenge.

We need to make “our frees and threes” as CBS sports analyst Clark “Special K” Kellogg likes to say. Threes and frees are important, as is defending, rebounding, taking care of the ball, and finishing at mid range and at the rim. We are averaging 43% from the field shooting, 34 percent from triple distance, and pulling down 36 boards this season.

We’ve got the team to emerge victorious on Saturday. Just need to handle the big things and the little things to come out successfully. I hope we can get a big crowd out there to support our super team. The students have been on spring break, but hoping they can get back and get out to Memorial. If you’re in Nashville and are a Dores fan, please come out and support the team. We’ve got a baseball game that day as well, but Corbs changed first pitch to 1 PM CT to make sure our fans can support both our teams. That Corbs is the best. Always looking our for our other teams. If we can support both teams, that would mean a lot to the players. Our bball team is in the postseason, so let’s make sure we support them. Can’t wait to see the guys out there once again competing. What an awesome group. They deserve all the support they can get as we set our sights on matriculating further in the NIT.

Baseball Hosts Ole Miss

Our 6th ranked Dores (D1 Baseball Rankings) host No.3 Ole Miss (D1) tonight through Saturday in our first SEC weekend set at the Hawk. LSU is No.1 and the villains from the East are No.2. Florida is No.5 and Wake Forest in No.4

We are 13-5 overall, and Ole Miss is 14-3. Ole Miss is the defending national champion and we won national championships in 2014 and 2019. Both teams have their sights set on once again making it to Omaha in mid June, and playing for a national championship. Those are always the goals at Vanderbilt. That’s the type of exceptional program Tim Corbin has built in Nashville.

We won 15-6 over Belmont on Tuesday Night at First Horizon Park in Nashville, home of the Nashville Sounds. We were playing in the All 4 Lou Showdown this past Tuesday and will also do so next Tuesday, March 21st at 6 PM at First Horizon versus Lipscomb, a game that will be broadcast by SEC Network+. The All 4 Lou Showdown benefits the Live Like Lou Foundation for research for a cure of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s a tough disease, but Corbs and his team are battling for a cure for this devastating sickness. The great “Iron Man” Lou Gehrig was a champion baseball player for the Yankees, a champion in life, and a first class gentleman. He made the great speech at Yankee Stadium in the 1930’s, when he had contracted ALS, in which he said, “I fell like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.” Such a class act. Obviously, I wasn’t around then, but I love the great historical heroes in baseball and “the Iron Man” was certainly one of them. What a classy man and what a tremendous baseball player Gehrig was. So, a great cause that Corbs and the team are playing for.

In that 16-5 victory Tuesday Night, our awesome freshman, RJ Austin, posted 4 hits. Junior catcher Jack Bulger homered and drove in 4 runs. The great Enrique Bradfield Jr. worked four walks and stole three bases. The awesome Bradfield Jr. now has stolen 12 of 15 bags on the season. He broke the program record with his 97th career stolen base versus UCLA on February 26th. Bradfield Jr. now has 105 career stolen bases in his career, which leads all active NCAA players, D1-D3. What a player our phenom is.

On the hill this weekend in order are our great lefty’s. Carter Holton, who is 1-0 with a 2.21 ERA faces Ole Miss’s right hander, Jack Dougherty, 2-1, 5.00 tonight. Friday, Hunter Owen, 1-0, 3.20, squares off against Rebels’ righty Grayson Saunter, 1-0, 5.74. And Saturday, Devin Futrell, 3-1, 2.87, faces lefty Xavier Rivas, 4-0, 5.40. The Rebels hit .337 as a team. So, as usual, they pound the baseball. Center fielder Ethan Groff leads them in hitting at .397, with 3 homers and 25 RBIs. He has also stolen 9 of 10 bases. Catcher Kemp Alderman is hitting .391 with 8 homers and 28 RBIs. And right fielder Calvin Harris is hitting .373 with 2 homers and 19 RBIs. Their pitching staff’s ERA is 4.84, and their fielding percentage is .986. So they’re good at the plate and defensively.

We are hitting .254 as a team. Our staff ERA is 3.36, and our fielding percentage is .975. Right fielder RJ Schreck leads us in hitting at .318 with 3 homers and 12 Ribeyes. RJ Austin is hitting .297 with 2 homers and 13 Ribbies. Jonathan Vastine, our great middle infielder, is hitting .279 with 3 long ones and 13 Ribbies. And our now left fielder Matthew Polk, whose stick I see as becoming elite, is hitting .270 with 2 homers and 10 Ribeyes. Ole Miss has hit 33 homers so far on the season, and we’ve hit 19. Hoping we can enhance our home run number at the Hawk this weekend. Like our pitching in this matchup. Just need to defend and hit well.

Ole Miss lost to Jacksonville State on the road, 10-6, Tuesday Night.Jax State is 7-10, so that was surprising,. But the Rebels are still a highly talented and elite team. Midweek losses happen to all teams. We’ve lost a midweek game to Central Arkansas already this season. So, it does happen to everybody, even the elite teams. We Have to be ready to face an this superior Rebels team.

First pitch tonight is at 6 CT on ESPNU. Friday’s game is 6 PM CT on SEC Network+. And Saturday’s finale is at 1 PM CT on the SEC Network.

So, a tremendous matchup to open SEC play. Gotta get the job done tonight and take it from there. Need a good start from Carter and good support in the field and at the plate.

I’ll keep you posted. Thanks.