The Vanderbilt Commodores fell victim to the 12 vs. 5 upset on Thurday, losing to Richmond 69-66 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. For the 9th year out of the last 10, a No. 12 seed has sent a No. 5 seed home early.
Vandy falls early for the third consecutive year after losing to No. 13 seed Murray State in 2010 and No. 13 seed Siena in 2009. The Commodores had their own two headed scoring monster in Festus Ezeli and John Jenkins who combined for 42 points on 14-19 from the field, including 4-6 from deep.
The Spiders of the Atlantic-10 were fueled by 25 points from Kevin Anderson. The 6’0, 170lbs Senior from Peachtree Ridge HS was the catalyst in the final 3 minutes and scoring the final 5 points. Justin Harper and Francis-Cedric Martel combined for 25 points off the bench.
Richmond moves on to face the other Cinder-Fellas of Morehead State on Saturday for a trip to the Sweet 16.