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Stats and Takeaways From Vanderbilt's Exhibition Win Over Virginia

Originally posted on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI
By Joey Dwyer | Last updated Oct 17, 2025 12:22 AM ET

NASHVILLE—Vanderbilt basketball took down Virginia in each of the team’s 24-minute games on Thursday as the Commodores provided their first look to Vanderbilt fans at Memorial Gymnasium.

Mark Byington says that his starting lineup and his team’s performance aren’t anything to overreact to at this stage, but they do indicate some things about this Vanderbilt team.

Here’s some notable stats and takeaways from Vanderbilt’s wins over Virginia.

Vanderbilt:

Frankie Collins: 3 pts, 1 rebound

Tyler Tanner: 20 pts, 2 blocks

Mike James: 1 pt

Duke Miles: 20 pts, 4 rebounds, 2 steals

AK Okereke: 6 pts, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 rebound

Chandler Bing: 3 pts

Jaylon Dean-Vines: 0 pts, 1 rebound, 1 steal

Tyler Nickel: 11 pts, 2 rebounds,

Tyler Harris: 19 pts, 3 rebounds

Devin McGlockton: 3 pts, 12 rebounds, 6 fouls

Jalen Washington: 6 pts, 8 rebounds

Mason Nicholson: 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 ast

Jayden Leverett: 1 pt

Virginia:

Malik Thomas: 17 pts

Chance Mallory: 9 pts

Sam Lewis: 3 pts

Jacari White: 12 pts

Johann Gründloh: 14 pts

Thijs De Ridder: 15 pts

Ugonna Onyenso: 14 pts

Take it with a grain of salt, particularly the starting lineup

Byington and Virginia coach Ryan Odom didn’t use this thing to model their rotations and a statement that their teams have arrived, they instead used Thursday night to experiment and to see what they’ve got.

Vanderbilt started Tyler Tanner, Duke Miles, Tyler Harris, Tyler Nickel and Devin McGlockton. Sources have indicated to Vandy on SI that North Carolina transfer Jalen Washington is a likely lock to start once the regular season starts. The indication is that TCU transfer Frankie Collins will likely be the starting point guard once it gets started, although Tyler Tanner made his case demonstratively on Thursday night.

Also keep in mind that Byington is vehemently against taking things away from his starting lineups, he deems them meaningless.

As a whole, Vanderbilt looks more like an SEC team than it did last season

Vanderbilt was talented this time last year, but Byington admitted in his Tuesday SEC Media Days appearance that his roster had some things that his staff just couldn’t overcome.

It wasn’t all that surprising, but this Vanderbilt team is significantly bigger across most positions, can hold its own on the glass and appears to have a higher defensive ceiling than Byington’s team did last season.

Perhaps Vanderbilt doesn’t have a star–which was evident on Thursday–but it’s got more SEC-like pieces than it did a season ago.

Duke Miles had a real effect on the game

Miles looked to be as advertised as a swiss-army knife.

The Oklahoma transfer was often pigeonholed into a catch and shoot role last season while playing alongside eventual lottery pick Jeremiah Fears, but he’s now in a system in which he’s got more freedom to be a real piece.

Miles finished Thursday night with 20 points, four rebounds and two steals while running the point in the absence of Collins. The traditional off guard had flashes of nice decision making and some glimpses of shot creation on Thursday.

He appears to be closer to the role he had at High Point than the one he had at Oklahoma. Vanderbilt is going to rely on him.

Thursday night, Miles appeared to be the MVP for this Vanderbilt team.

Quiet days from Frankie Collins, Mike James, Mason Nicholson and Jalen Washington

The trio combined for less than 15 points on the night.

Vanderbilt expects better from all four, but it left Memorial Gymnasium with a general positive feel to take away the sting. It will need them to step up at some point if it’s going to get where it wants to.

It’s too early to make rash judgements, though.

Tyler Tanner looks significantly improved

If it wasn’t clear by the way Tanner walked and talked this offseason, it should’ve been based off of his performance on Thursday night.

He was more confident. He was more assertive. He was running the show and looked comfortable doing it. He did all the things that an improved sophomore looking to prove that he’s got command of this thing did. And he did them well.

Tanner was perhaps the story of the night in his 20-point, multi-assist, two block performance. Didn’t believe in his potential leap before Thursday? May as well get on the train now.

Tyler Harris’ up and down day

Harris’ day on Thursday was essentially a microcosm of the summer he had in the Huber Center.

The Washington transfer finished the night with 19 points and a few rebounds, but mixed in a few ill-advised shot attempts with his string of makes. Harris got the start on Thursday and demonstrated why he did, but also demonstrated why he’s not quite equipped to be Vanderbilt’s best player yet.

He does appear to be more confident in putting it on the floor than expected, though.

An AK Okereke note

Okereke was relatively quiet on Thursday night, but demonstrated a few aspects of his game that Vanderbilt gravitated towards as he was in the transfer portal.

The Vanderbilt staff has always liked Okereke’s versatility and ability to be a spot point guard in the case he’s needed there. Okereke brought the ball up multiple times on Thursday night, which appears to be a plausible regular season outcome for him.

Okereke also played in isolation a bit and used his eyes to keep it moving. His best role likely isn’t in isolation, but Vanderbilt was seemingly intentional about allowing him to have those touches.

Freshman mistakes, promise

Vanderbilt’s freshmen didn’t make a great initial impression, but by the end of the night it appeared as if they showed some promise.

In the first string of plays that freshman big man Jayden Leverett was out there, he got called for a push on a ballscreen and appeared to need things to slow down for him a tad. In the following moments, freshman guard Jaylon Dean-Vines fouled a 3-point shooter.

Freshman wing Chandler Bing looked the most composed of the three and made a corner 3. He’s got perhaps the most difficult path to playing time, though. Leverett appears to have the clearest path and did show some nice things energy wise

This article first appeared on Vanderbilt Commodores on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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