How Vanderbilt Commodores Compare to SEC Foes Ahead of Conference Play
The Vanderbilt Commodores are in the midst of one of their best seasons in a while, but are about to enter a tough stretch of conference play.
While the Commodores have certainly impressed, it has been a historic year for the entire SEC.
Using the advanced analytics of the popular Ken Pomeroy ratings can help get a better understanding of how Vanderbilt stacks up with the rest of the conference.
The KenPom stats give an overview of how teams have performed this season while also accounting for the opponents they have faced, bringing everyone to somewhat of an even playing field.
First and foremost is the net rating, which is the difference between offensive and defensive ratings.
The Commodores currently have a +15.46 margin, which ranks No. 50 overall and No. 13 in the SEC.
What has them so high is their offensive rating, which sits at 116.4 and is the 34th-best in the country and ninth in the conference.
The best scorer on the Vanderbilt squad is junior guard Jason Edwards.
He is putting up 18.8 points per game on 48.4% shooting. He has been more efficient in pretty much every sense of the word since transferring over from the North Texas Mean Green last season.
It is hard to imagine where the Commodores would be without Edwards right now, as he is scoring almost seven more points than anyone else on the team. His season-high was 30 against the TCU Horned Frogs. He has only dipped below 16 once, making him fairly consistent as well.
Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, Vanderbilt has not had nearly as much success.
They have a 101.0 rating, which puts them No. 85 in the country and 13th in the SEC.
Freshman guard Tyler Tanner has been a huge boost off the bench, but also plays about as many minutes as the starters. He has averaged 7.8 points with 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.2 assists.
Tanner is the only player in Division I this year with over at least 20 steals (32) and zero turnovers.
While the Commodores have finally cracked their way into bracketology and could have their best team in years, they could also be in for a rude awakening come SEC play.
The KenPom ratings put them as having the 355th hardest schedule in Division I thus far, so, while they've done well with the hands they have been dealt, the level of competition they're going to face is about to jump way up.
Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders