Down four to the Vanderbilt Commodores at the half, the Tennessee Volunteers came storming back in the second, evening the score with just over two minutes to play before using a late-run to pull away for a 60-51 win. With Vanderbilt up by two, Tennessee held the Commodores scoreless over the final 5:02, scoring the final 11 points of the game to snatch the lead and seal the victory.
With the NCAA's findings after an investigation into the recruiting practices of Bruce Pearl looming over the team, Tennessee shook off the distraction, completing a season sweep of Vanderbilt.
Scotty Hopson led the way for Tennessee with a team-high 19 points. Melvin Goins added 15 points and Tobias Harris had a double-double, registering 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Steven Pearl and Brian Williams added six points apiece off the bench, as well.
Vanderbilt used a balanced scoring attack to keep the Vols at bay for much of the game before sputtering down the stretch. Festus Ezeli and John Jenkins each had a team-high 11 points, with Steve Tchiengang adding 10 points off the bench — the only scoring from the Vanderbilt reserves. Jeffrey Taylor had nine points and Brad Tinsley had eight. Tinsley, Jenkins and Lance Goulbourne led the way on the boards with six rebounds each.
Tennessee improved to 17-11 on the season, including a 7-6 mark in SEC play. The Vols currently sit in fifth place in the SEC East, 3.5 games behind first-place Florida. Vanderbilt, ranked 18th in the polls coming into the game, fell to 20-7 on the year and 8-5 in the SEC. The Commodores now sit 2.5 games behind Florida in the standings.