Not all hope is lost for Vanderbilt after losing Duke Miles to knee surgery

The Vanderbilt Commodores have to be smarting about the idea of senior guard Duke Miles missing time.

Vanderbilt is 18-3 and has bounced back from a three-game losing streak over Texas, No. 19 Florida, and No. 20 Arkansas with wins over Mississippi State and Kentucky.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that the Commodores played without Miles on Tuesday night. Also,  after the 80-55 win over the Wildcats, head coach Mark Byington revealed that the senior is going to have knee surgery.

“He’s got to get cleanup in his knee,” Byington said, according to Thomas Goldkamp of On3. “And he’ll be back. He was a great leader today. He’s been playing through some pain, I think everybody knows.”

Just how long Miles will be out is unknown at this point, but Byington is talking like the Commodores are expecting the Montgomery, Alabama native to be back this season.

One would have to imagine that he's going to try to return for a March Madness run, but we'll have to wait and see what that looks like.

Vanderbilt Commodores expecting a quick rehab from Duke Miles

“The way he’s going to attack things, the way he’s going to be, he won’t be out long,” Byington said. “He’s going to get surgery tomorrow morning and then he’s going to attack rehab.”

Miles has averaged 16.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists for the Commodores this season, so they're going to miss him while he's getting healthy.

With the win over Kentucky, Vanderbilt is currently 5-3 in SEC play and a game-and-a-half back behind SEC leader Texas A&M. Arkansas and Florida are right ahead of the Commodores as it stands, though. The Razorbacks are a half-game back, and the Gators are one game back.

Vandy has a chance to go on a run here, even without Miles. Up next on the schedule is Ole Miss, Oklahoma and Auburn, which have a combined SEC record of 8-14.