The last time that the Vanderbilt Commodores men’s basketball team participated in the NCAA tournament was back in 2017.
They went 19-16 in the regular season and 10-8 in the SEC, earning a No. 9 seed in their first season with Bryce Drew as head coach. They would lose a heartbreaker to the Northwestern Wildcats, 68-66.
Excitement was building for the program, as it was the second consecutive year they had participated in the tournament. The previous year, the last season under Kevin Stallings, they lost in the First Rour to the Wichita State Shockers in embarrassing fashion, 70-50.
Unfortunately for the Commodores and their fan base, that success was fleeting.
The team hasn’t played in the NCAA tournament since 2017, as the team won only 21 games in the final two campaigns under Drew.
Things didn’t get much better under Jerry Stackhouse, who was at the helm for five years.
In three out of five of those seasons, Vanderbilt finished with a losing record. He did lead them to a 22-win campaign in 2022-23, which was the most in a single since 2011-12 when they had 25 victories.
However, things look to have really turned a corner with Mark Byington leading the way.
Hired away from the James Madison Dukes after their historic 2023-24 season, he has made an immediate impact on the Commodores. They are 11-1, already tying or surpassing the win total the team had under Stackhouse in three of his years.
The team is finding success on the back of a very strong offense, averaging 85.4 points per game, which is No. 24 in the country. Their schedule hasn’t been very daunting, but beating teams with this regularity is a welcome sight at Vanderbilt.
Fans are excited for what is to come in SEC play, and based on some projections shared by Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, that success isn’t expected to slow down any time soon.
Using some of the predictive metrics, the Commodores are projected to earn a spot in the First Four matchup. Their opponent in that game is currently set to the be Arizona State Sun Devils out of the Big 12.
That would be a remarkable turnaround for Byington in Year 1 given the state of the program when he took over. Just being in the mix for an at-large bid is an incredible step in the right direction.
There is plenty of work left to be done to earn that bid. Improving their 3-point shooting and defense behind the arc is a must.
But, given how deep the SEC is, if Vanderbilt can finish with a record near .500 in conference play, they will be squarely in the mix for a tournament spot.
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