Luckily for Bryce Drew, no memorable coaching tenure has ever been defined by its first game. The good vibes surrounding the Vanderbilt program and its new coach quickly dissipated on opening night last Friday, as Marquette sprinted past the Commodores in the second half of a 24-point rout. The shaky debut raised the stakes for Tuesday night’s inter-Nashville battle between the Commodores and Belmont, as an 0-2 start and a loss to a crosstown little brother would possess the potential to leave a lasting impact on Drew’s first season at Vanderbilt. However, Drew’s veteran outfit responded to the challenge at hand, posting a ship-righting victory that may be more crucial than the calendar and opponent would suggest.
At this point, no program in America should treat a win over Belmont as a given. The Bruins have proven to be more than just a pesky mid-major for over a decade now, and they pushed another high-major team on its home floor last night. Quite certainly, Drew’s first win is one he didn’t take for granted until his team extended its lead into double figures in the game’s final minute. However, the win revealed a blueprint for how his teeam might win games moving forward. Luke Kornet was the centerpiece, scoring 20 points, grabbing seven rebounds, and harassing 2016 OVC Player of the Year Evan Bradds into an unusually inefficient 6-of-15 night from the field. On a team with little in the way of overwhelming talent, Kornet will need to be this sort of difference-maker on a nightly basis. The four upperclassmen that join him in the starting lineup are all competent complementary pieces, but junior Matthew Fisher-Davis is the only other Commodore starter with the talent to truly concern opposing SEC coaches. Given these limitations, it is not only imperative that Kornet find consistency as a focal point of the offense, but also that the group around him finds a way to make him a successful centerpiece of an elite defense.
The Commodores finished 23rd nationally in defensive efficiency a season ago. That team possessed more offensive talent than this group and it still barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament — a simple analysis would lead to the conclusion that this team must retain a similar level of defensive efficiency. Drew’s teams at Valparaiso, while very successful, were stylistically vague; his last two teams there hung their hats on the defensive end, but it would be a reach to define him as a consistently defensive-minded coach. If Drew is seeking to perpetuate such a reputation, Kornet will prove his most valuable piece. He certainly made his presence felt in making life difficult for Bradds last night, and at no expense to his offense. Whether he can do that against the Kentuckys and the Floridas of the college basketball world is another question, but at least for a night, Kornet and his supporting cast gave Drew his first glimpse of what a winning Vanderbilt team this season might look like.