Vanderbilt won five of its past six Southeastern Conference games despite playing short-handed.
The No. 19 Commodores (21-4, 8-4 Southeastern Conference) will continue testing their depth when they travel to Columbia, Mo., to face Missouri (17-8, 7-5) Wednesday night.
With two guards out with knee injuries, Duke Miles sidelined since Jan. 24 and Frankie Collins unavailable since Dec. 17, Tyler Tanner stepped up to average 25.8 points during a recent five-game span.
When Tanner got into foul trouble and scored just four points against Texas A&M on Saturday, other Commodores took over in an 82-69 win. Tyler Nickel put up 25 points, AK Okereke assumed more ball-handling responsibilities while contributing 23 points and Chandler Bing scored 11 points off the bench.
“Other guys are capable,” Commodores coach Mark Byington said. “This team celebrates each other. No one’s happier in the locker room than Tyler Tanner or anybody else. And that’s why I like this group. They care about winning.”
Miles, who averages 16.6 points per game, is closer to returning than Collins but is still questionable to play on Wednesday.
“Duke’s attacking his rehab,” Byington said. “He’s doing workouts and things like that. He’s competitive. He wants to get back (to) being a great teammate. I think we’ll have him back soon. It’s hard to give a timetable, but I think within a week or two for sure.”
While Vanderbilt had a NET ranking of No. 13 through the weekend’s games, Missouri dropped to No. 66 after absorbing an 85-68 home loss to Texas. That was just the Tigers’ second loss at Mizzou Arena this season, and the result snapped Missouri’s three-game overall winning streak.
The defeat was a big setback in Missouri’s bid to reach the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s not always as good as you think it is, and it’s not always as bad as you think it is,” Tigers coach Dennis Gates said. “Ultimately, we’ve gotta bounce back and be able to flush the game.”
Once again, Missouri center Shawn Phillips Jr. was hindered by foul trouble. He played just 18 minutes against the Longhorns and was held to five points and two rebounds.
“Shawn is a defensive presence for us,” Gates said. “He gives us, definitely, athleticism around the basket. It’s just one of those things where some of the fouls that he picked up on the floor … unfortunate flagrant. And he’s probably leading the country in flagrant fouls. The other part of it is, is it the response or the initiation of the physicality? And I think he’s always on the other side of reacting, and the second move in terms of being caught.
“So after watching film, I’ll show him some things just in terms of where the referees were allowing physicality and where they’re not allowing it.”
The Tigers don’t have another true center on the roster capable of defending and rebounding at the SEC level. The Tigers must deploy a zone defense when Phillips is out or play man-to-man with a smaller lineup and forward Mark Mitchell defending the post.
Gates said 6-foot-11 forward Jevon Porter is making progress in recovering from a leg injury, but Porter hasn’t played since Dec. 14.
