Vandy rallies from 15-point 2nd-half deficit, beats Alabama

TAMPA, Fla. -- — Scottie Pippen Jr. scored 26 points, Myles Stute added 18 and 11th-seeded Vanderbilt rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit to upset six-seed and defending SEC tournament champ Alabama 82-76 Thursday night.

Alabama (19-13) beat Vanderbilt 74-72 on Feb. 22 and Pippen declared after the Commodores' win over Georgia on Wednesday that the Tide was “a very beatable team ... a team we wanted to play.” And with his famous father in the stands, he proved himself right, helping to send the Commodores (17-15) into Friday's quarterfinals against third-seeded and fifth-ranked Kentucky.

Pippen was only 5 of 19 from the floor but made 15 of 21 free throws. Stute hit six 3-pointers. Rodney Chatman scored all 12 of his points in the second half when the trio combined for 39 of Vanderbilt's 54 points and the Commodores shot 50%. Jordan Wright added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Jaden Shackelford had six 3-pointers and 21 points and Jahvon Quinerly added 13 points for Alabama before both fouled out late.

Vanderbilt shot only 26% in the first half when it trailed 38-28 then fell behind by 15 with 14 minutes remaining.

That's when Stute hit consecutive 3-pointers to start a 12-0 run. The Commodores caught the Tide with a 6-0 spurt with nine minutes to go and took the lead for good with 3:19 left after Chatman scored nine straight points, including two 3s.

A steal that turned into a transition dunk for Pippen with 22 seconds left made it a seven-point edge and two free throws by Wright following a Tide 3-pointer ensured the win.

Two players from each team fouled out with the teams combining for 79 free throws. Vanderbilt made 31 of 45 attempts to Alabama's 20 of 34. The Tide had 18 turnovers and was outscored 16-7 off miscues offsetting Alabama's plus-18 on the boards.

----