NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Arkansas Razorbacks didn't want to become the first Southeastern Conference team to lose to Vanderbilt, and they turned in a dominating performance that left the Commodores coach apologizing.
Daniel Gafford scored 20 points, and Arkansas routed Vanderbilt 84-48 Wednesday night to seal the Commodores' worst season ever.
"We weren't nervous," Gafford said. "We made a mindset to where we weren't going to be the first loss or the first win, so we came in and did what we had to do to prevent that."
The Commodores (9-21, 0-17 Southeastern Conference) now have the most losses in school history, and they wrapped up their home schedule at 8-10 for the first losing record in 67 seasons at Memorial Gym. A loss Saturday night to No. 10 LSU would make Vanderbilt the first SEC team to go winless in league play since Georgia Tech went 0-14 in 1953-54.
"It hurts of course," Vanderbilt freshman Aaron Nesmith said. "Everybody on the team's hurting, everybody on the staff's hurting."
Arkansas (16-14, 7-10) now has won two straight after snapping its own six-game skid. The Razorbacks also have won four straight against Vanderbilt, sweeping the season series after taking the first game between these teams 69-66 in Arkansas.
Mason Jones added 16 points for the Razorbacks. Isaiah Joe had 12, and Desi Sills 11.
This game was only that close at halftime with Arkansas up 29-25. The Razorbacks outscored Vanderbilt 23-4 over the first 11 minutes of the second half, taking advantage of the Commodores' worst shooting performance this season. They went 17 minutes, 35 seconds between field goals and shot a season-low 29.6 percent.
"Our defense was really good, and once our defense was going, we obviously started to execute offensively and then we made some shots," Arkansas coach Mike Anderson said.
Nesmith led Vandy with 11 points as the Commodores also suffered through their widest margin of defeat this season. That's why coach Bryce Drew started off apologizing to every Vanderbilt fan and those inside Memorial for the result.
"I apologize for our ball-handling, our shooting and our passing," Drew said. "The fundamentals of basketball. Those are three things we have to get better at."
Vanderbilt appeared ready to end their painful skid as they opened the game with a 12-2 run and led 15-5 on a 3-pointer by Maxwell Evans with 13:17 left. Then the Commodores didn't hit another field goal the rest of the first half, missing their last 16 shots. Their first made field goal in the second half was a goaltending call on a jumper by Simisola Shittu with 15:42 to go before Aaron Nesmith finally scored on a layup with 12:49 left.
Arkansas shook off its own poor shooting after missing five of its first six. After that, it was a fairly easy night for the Razorbacks as they took the lead with their first 23-4 run of the game.
BIG PICTURE
Arkansas: Joe made four 3s to give him 104 this season and the school record for a single season, passing Scotty Thurman who made 102 in 1995. ... The Razorbacks finished the game hitting their last 11 shots and finished at 52.6 percent (30 of 57).
Vanderbilt: At least the Commodores have managed to remain one of only three schools to knock down a 3 in every game since the 3-point line was added in the 1986-87 season. Senior Joe Toye, getting the start, hit a 3 for the game's opening bucket to extend the streak to 1,061 consecutive games with a made 3.
UGLY NUMBERS
The Commodores had 23 turnovers, and Arkansas scored 33 points off those mistakes. The Razorbacks had just one of their 11 turnovers after halftime. They also outshot Vanderbilt outside the arc, going 11 of 18 (61.1 percent). Anderson called the points off turnovers a big key.
"We chart deflections, we had 21 at halftime so that tells me we were active and we ended up with 40 for the game," Anderson said. "But we not only touched it, we came up with them, so that's huge."
UP NEXT
Arkansas: Hosts Alabama on Saturday.
Vanderbilt: Visiting No. 10 LSU on Saturday night.
EARLIER
Arkansas 84, Vanderbilt 48 - FINAL
The Razorbacks palindrome Vanderbilt on its home floor behind huge nights from Daniel Gafford, Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe. The trio combined for 48 points, led by Gafford's 20.
Jones added 16 points and Joe, who set the program's single-season record for 3s, finished with 12 on 4-of-6 from deep. Jonathan Holmes and Ty Stevens each scored three points in the win as well. Desi Sills pitched in 11.
Arkansas shot 52.6 percent for the game and knocked down 11 of 18 3-point attempts.
The Razorbacks now head into their final home game of the season Saturday on a two-game win streak.
More from tonight's game later on WholeHogSports.com.
Arkansas 73, Vanderbilt 40 - 2:35 left
Isaiah Joe has made program history with four 3s tonight. He now owns the school's single-season record for 3s in a season. He has 104.
Daniel Gafford continues to feast on Vanderbilt this season. He has 20 points on 8-of-11 from the floor, Mason Jones has 13, Isaiah Joe 12 and Desi Sills 11. Razorbacks are shooting 63 percent in the second half.
Vanderbilt is shooting 26 percent tonight, which seems a bit high considering its shooting woes. Aaron Nesmith has a team-high 11.
Arkansas 54, Vanderbilt 33 - 7:51 left
Daniel Gafford, similarly to last season against Vanderbilt in Bud Walton Arena, threw down a windmill dunk then hit the Commodores crowd with a shimmy. His dunk put Arkansas up 25, its largest lead since being up 26 at Colorado State on Dec. 5.
Gafford has 15 points on 6-of-9 from the floor to go with four blocks. Razorbacks have scored on 12 of 19 second-half possessions and imposed their will on a pretty helpless Vandy team.
Arkansas 46, Vanderbilt 29 - 11:40 left
Adrio Bailey just knocked down a jumper to push the Razorbacks' lead to 17, their largest of the night. Arkansas is in firm control of this one, and it would take more than a minor miracle for Vanderbilt to snap out of its funk and make this a game again.
Mason Jones has six points since halftime while Bailey and Daniel Gafford each have four. Gafford and Jones each have 13 points to lead the way. Aaron Nesmith leads the Commodores with seven.
Arkansas 38, Vanderbilt 27 - 15:42 left
Vanderbilt's field goal drought ends after 17 minutes, 35 seconds. Simi Shittu had a mismatch on Gabe Osabuohien in the lane, and Daniel Gafford was whistled for goaltending after swatting Shittu's shot off the raised floor.
Arkansas 38, Vanderbilt 25 - 17:09 left
Daniel Gafford and Mason Jones have combined to score the first nine points of the second half, and Arkansas has its largest lead of the night. Gafford has scored twice at the rim, and Mason Jones hit a 3 as well as two free throws.
Razorbacks are rolling right now, and Vanderbilt can't buy a bucket. Three turnovers in four second-half possessions for the Commodores.
Arkansas 29, Vanderbilt 25 - Halftime
Vanderbilt did not make a shot over the final 13-plus minutes of the first half, but finds itself down only four at halftime. The Commodores missed their last 16 field goal attempts and scored their last six points at the line.
Daniel Gafford leads all scorers with nine points and Mason Jones has seven off the bench. Desi Sills also has five points. Arkansas regained control of the game thanks to a 15-0 run midway through the half.
Vanderbilt scored at a .694 point per possession rate in the first half, finished with 10 turnovers and made just 3 of 15 3-pointers, but is still within striking distance.
Arkansas also turned the ball over 10 times. Adrio Bailey is the only Razorbacks player without one, and Sills leads the team with two.
Arkansas 27, Vanderbilt 19 - 3:36 left first half
The Razorbacks' run has reached 15-0 after a free throw from Desi Sills. It should be noted that Sills has now hit at least one 3 in each of the last four games. Him re-emerging as a perimeter threat has been good to see.
Vanderbilt hasn't scored in the last 6:36. Saben Lee and Simi Shittu each have three turnovers. As a team, the Commodores have nine over 29 first-half possessions.
Arkansas 26, Vanderbilt 19 - 4:38 left first half
Arkansas is on a 14-0 run, which included a 3-pointer from Desi Sills and a strip-and-score from Mason Jones following a Vanderbilt timeout.
Commodores haven't made a shot from the floor in six minutes. They are 0 for their last 12.
Vanderbilt 19, Arkansas 17 - 7:28 left first half
Daniel Gafford has scored Arkansas' last five points and pulled the Razorbacks within a bucket. He has a game-high seven points as well as two blocks.
Reggie Chaney threw down a vicious one-hand slam similar to the one he had the last time the teams met in Bud Walton Arena. Since opening the game 0-of-5 from the floor, the Razorbacks have hit 7 of their last 11 shots.
Defensively, Arkansas is playing a bit better. Vanderbilt has missed its last nine shots and not scored in nearly four minutes.
Vanderbilt 15, Arkansas 7 - 11:43 left first half
Daniel Gafford's first score of the night pulled the Razorbacks within 8-5, but the Commodores reeled off seven straight points behind buckets from three players immediately after to grab an early 10-point lead.
Jalen Harris hit Arkansas' first shot in nearly four minutes to stop the run. Any jumpshot he hits is a gift. Arkansas is 3-of-10 from the floor and 1-of-4 from deep so far. Razorbacks have turned the ball over on five of 15 possessions.
Vanderbilt 8, Arkansas 3 - 15:36 left first half
Not a great start for Arkansas. Isaiah Joe has the team's only bucket - a 3, which pulls him within one triple of Scotty Thurman's single-season program record. He's 1-of-4 from the floor. Jalen Harris and Daniel Gafford each have a miss and a turnover as well.
Joe Toye opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, then Aaron Nesmith knocked one down as well. Commodores are getting some open looks beyond the arc, which isn't all that surprising considering Arkansas' perimeter defense.
Pregame
Arkansas' starting lineup: Jalen Harris, Desi Sills, Isaiah Joe, Gabe Osabuohien and Daniel Gafford.
Fourth consecutive start for this bunch tonight. The group has been outscored 49-47 over the last three games, but has taken fairly good care of the basketball and shot the 3 well - 41.7 percent, per HoopLens. This lineup has allowed teams to shoot 60 percent inside the arc since Texas A&M and turned teams over at a 21.7 percent clip.
Big night for Arkansas. Players need to set the tone early and run Vandy off the 3-point line. The Razorbacks do not want to be the team that handed the Commodores their first win in 2019. Daniel Gafford finished with 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 10-of-12 at the line in the teams' first meeting. Isaiah Joe, now two 3s from tying Scotty Thurman's single-season program record, scored 18 on six 3-pointers.
Vanderbilt's starters: Saben Lee, Joe Toye, Simisola Shittu, Aaron Nesmith and Clevon Brown.
Tonight is Senior Night at Vanderbilt, so emotions will be running high at least for one player - Joe Toye. The Commodores enter tonight's game 0-16 in SEC play and on a 17-game losing streak. Vanderbilt's last win came on Dec. 31 against UNC-Asheville. Toye led the Commodores with 18 points in their loss at Arkansas in February, knocking down four 3s. He's scored 17 total points in the seven games since.
Vanderbilt ranks last in the SEC in: offensive efficiency rating, effective field goal percentage, offensive rebound rate, 3-point accuracy, free throw percentage and block rate. The Commodores, in league play, have had 15 percent of their 2-point looks blocked. Nesmith is the lone Vanderbilt player with an offensive rating better than 100 (average) in conference games. He is far and away the Commodores' biggest perimeter threat.
Live updates by Scottie Bordelon