Mississippi State @ Vandy 3P CST ESPNU

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/tnsports/status/834616296180314112

Meanwhile, Shelby Mast has Vandy among last four in, Vols last four out. First bracket in long time to include Vandy...

NCAA Tournament hopes? This team isn't just making a push for an invite, it's playing like it could advance in the thing.

Defense? Vols treated Vandy's 2-3 zone like a Pop-A-Shot at Chuck E. Cheese in Nashville, but that zone is long gone, replaced by a man defense that helps just enough on drivers, doubles with purpose in the post and relies on its rim protector — 7-foot-1 senior Luke Kornet, who had 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven blocks and complete ownership of the end of the game.

"His defense the last five minutes was as good a five-minute defensive stretch as I've seen from anybody in the country," Vanderbilt first-year coach Bryce Drew said of Kornet.

Toughness? Here's where the imagination has to stretch a bit. If you watched this team in the first couple months of the season...

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/HailStateMBK/status/835625913480056832