Duke Miles (No. 2) of the Vanderbilt Commodores is pressured by Jacolb Fredson-Cole (No. 10) of the McNeese Cowboys during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Paycom Center on March 19, 2026 in Oklahoma City.
Tyler Tanner (No. 3) of the Vanderbilt Commodores shoots against Jerrell Colbert of the McNeese Cowboys during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Paycom Center on March 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
Duke Miles (No. 2) of the Vanderbilt Commodores is pressured by Jacolb Fredson-Cole (No. 10) of the McNeese Cowboys during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Paycom Center on March 19, 2026 in Oklahoma City.
No. 5 seed Vanderbilt (27-8) was able to fend off a feisty No. 12 McNeese State (28-6) squad in its opening game of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon, defeating the Cowboys 78-68 in Oklahoma City.
Tyler Tanner (No. 3) of the Vanderbilt Commodores shoots against Jerrell Colbert of the McNeese Cowboys during the second half in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Paycom Center on March 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City.
Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images
McNeese State trailed just 38-35 heading into halftime. But a big second half, led by star guard Tyler Tanner, led to Vanderbilt's first March Madness win since 2012. The Commodores had lost four NCAA Tournament outings in a row, including three one-and-done years in 2016, 2017 and 2025.
