Vandy is playing without 6-11 senior Festus Ezeli, who’s sidelined by a knee injury, and their allegedly porous defense has been the topic of much discussion. Mark me down as puzzled by the allegations and discussion. Allowing NC State to score 79 points in a 76-possession game, as Kevin Stallings‘ team did in the Legends semifinals, is surely not the end of the defensive world. The Commodores’ one unalloyed defensive weakness, the high percentage of two-point makes recorded by opponents, is currently being offset by excellent defensive rebounding and a fair number of takeaways.