Vanderbilt basketball got revenge on Saint Mary’s, the team it lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament a year ago, by winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.
The Commodores (8-0) defeated Western Kentucky, 83-78, on Nov. 26 before beating VCU, 89-74 on Nov. 27 and then the Gaels, 96-71 on Nov. 28. Duke Miles was named the MVP of the tournament after putting up three performances of 20-plus points.
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No. 23 Vanderbilt will next face SMU (7-0) in the SEC/ACC Challenge at Memorial Gymnasium on Dec. 3 (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network).
Here’s what we learned from the tournament:
Duke Miles is a revelation for Vanderbilt’s offense
Miles, the transfer from Oklahoma who famously committed to both Texas A&M and Virginia before landing at Vanderbilt, scored 28, 20 and 25 points in the three games. Miles launched four 3-pointers in the first game against Western Kentucky but also showed the ability to get to the free-throw line, making 28-of-32 free throw attempts.
“Coming with coach (Mark Byington), with the system, how we play, how we play fast, yes, it builds up my confidence, but I like to build up my team’s confidence,” Miles said.
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Miles has been the leading scorer this season in an offense that ranks No. 2 in the country per the analytics site Torvik. He also leads the team in assists.
North Carolina transfer Jalen Washington shows out
Jalen Washington, whom Vanderbilt brought in as a transfer from North Carolina to add size in the post, had struggled early in the season but put up two good performances against VCU and Saint Mary’s. He scored 11 points with eight rebounds against VCU and had 19 points against Saint Mary’s.
“He’s got another level, and I think he’s starting to show it,” Byington said. “He’s got another level to his game and he’s definitely capable of this.”
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Vanderbilt has higher expectations
The bar has been raised for the Commodores. A win in a November tournament ultimately means little come March, where Vanderbilt wants to advance further than its first-round loss last season.
Byington made sure to point out that this is likely to end up a Quadrant 1 win for the Commodores. (NET rankings are not released until December.)
“In November, we know we’ve got a long way,” Miles said. “We’re trying to get to the end goal, in March to be out there playing for a national championship.”
Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt basketball wins Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, what we learned
