Vanderbilt Basketball Receives No Ranking Consideration in Week 5 of AP Poll
The early season and holiday tournaments came to a close this past weekend, and even though Vanderbilt was in a showcase event that was one of the earlier ones to tip off, they had a good showing by making it to the championship game.
Unfortunately, they couldn't return to Nashville as winners of the Charleston Classic after they lost to Drake, but by taking out Nevada and Seton Hall, they were able to answer some of the questions that persisted regarding if this team was good or not.
The Commodores used the momentum of this tournament to smoke Tennessee Tech in their return to the court on Nov. 29, but despite sitting with a 7-1 record, they apparently haven't done enough to catch the attention of the AP voters.
In the latest, Week 5 edition of the AP Poll, Vanderbilt not only wasn't ranked inside the top 25, they didn't even receive a vote.
POLL ALERT: Kansas holds off Auburn for No. 1 in AP Top 25 as SEC grabs 3 of top 4 spots; 2-time defending champion UConn nearly out of poll.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) December 2, 2024
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/rENB6Z8P7s
While it would have been great to see the Commodores with a number next to their name heading into their ACC/SEC Challenge showdown against Virginia Tech, it's not necessarily surprising they weren't ranked.
What's shocking is they didn't earn a single vote.
Eight teams in the top 25 have more losses than they do, and while it's hard to compare schedules based on some of the top programs around the country playing against each other to start the year, there are other teams with more losses than Vanderbilt who received votes.
The Commodores continue to be overlooked, and perhaps new head coach Mark Byington prefers it that way.
Vanderbilt will be in the spotlight on Wednesday when they take on Virginia Tech, though.
The game is set for tip off at 8:15 p.m. CST and will broadcasted on ACC Network.
