Latest Bracketology Projection Has Vanderbilt Commodores Firmly on Bubble
Things got off to a great start for Vanderbilt (13-3, 1-2 SEC) in conference play when they beat LSU on the road, but after that, they have dropped their last two heading into an important matchup against South Carolina (10-6, 0-3 SEC) on Wednesday.
The Commodores still boast a great record, but their lack of quality wins could come back to haunt them when being considered for the NCAA Tournament by the committee.
Beating the Gamecocks is virtually a must since Vanderbilt faces sixth-ranked Tennessee, fourth-ranked Alabama and eighth-ranked Kentucky during their next three contests.
If they are able to earn a victory against just one of those top 10 opponents, then that will do a lot for their chances to make the March Madness field, because as it currently stands in one of the latest Bracketology projections, the Commodores are firmly on the bubble.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN has Vanderbilt as one of the First Four Out.
They join Arizona State, Arkansas and Indiana with that designation, while the foursome of Creighton, Dayton, Iowa and New Mexico are the Last Four In.
According to BBallNet.com, Vanderbilt has a 1-2 record in Quad 1 games and are 2-1 in Quad 2. They have taken advantage of their weak schedule by going 10-0 in Quad 3 and 4 contests.
While being .500 in the upper echelon of matchups is certainly nothing to sneeze at, it's going to be hard for that to get the Commodores into the NCAA Tournament if they don't improve upon those numbers.
In comparison, Creighton has gone 5-6 in Quad 1 and 2 games, Dayton is 3-4, Iowa is 5-4 and New Mexico is 6-2.
However, Vanderbilt has a comparable record in Quad 1 contests to these four teams that were the last to get into the field, and have even been better than some of them in these types of matchups.
Creighton has gone 2-5 so far, Dayton is 2-3, Iowa is 0-4 and New Mexico is 1-1.
That means there's plenty of room for the Commodores to win some of their high-profile games in conference play to further improve their resume.
Lunardi has Vanderbilt out right now, but with a huge stretch during the next two weeks, that could change very quickly.