Vanderbilt Commodores Men’s Basketball Record Moving in the Right Direction
The Vanderbilt Commodores men’s basketball team has gotten off to a stellar start in the 2024-25 season.
They ran through their non-conference schedule, going 12-1, with their only defeat coming at the hands of the Drake Bulldogs in a neutral site holiday tournament.
Their strength of schedule left some people questioning just how good they were, as the average NET Ranking of their opponents when the out-of-conference schedule ended was 314.
Certainly, not a ton of competition was faced, but for a program that has struggled to the extent the Commodores have in recent years, any win is a good win. Racking up 12 of them, which is more than the last head coach, Jerry Stackhouse, had in three out of his five campaigns, is an impressive feat for Mark Byington and his crew.
The SEC would present ample opportunities for Vanderbilt to prove they are legitimate, as it is hands down the best conference in men’s college basketball to this point.
As a collective, they dominated their opponents.
All 16 teams won at least 10 games before SEC play got underway and their collective winning percentage out of conference of 88.9 is the highest in men’s college basketball history. Teams weren’t stacking victories against overmatched opponents; they were the only power conference with a winning record against teams in the top 25, 50 and 100 of BarkTorvik.com.
In their first opportunity to gain attention, the Commodores were successful.
They went on the road to face the LSU Tigers and came away with an 80-72 victory. It was their first Quad 1 win of the season, catapulting them up the NET Rankings and garnering some attention for the first time from the top 25 poll voters.
That win also continues moving them in the right direction when it comes to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
As shared by bracketologist Joe Lunardi of ESPN, Vanderbilt is steadily moving their way off the bubble. He now has them as the last team with a bye, avoiding the First Four play-in along with the Dayton Flyers, Louisville Cardinals and North Carolina Tar Heels.
It is the first time they have been featured in Lunardi’s 64-team field, landing the No. 11 seed in the East Region. Right now, that would set them up for a First Round matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers out of Big 12.
If the Commodores do earn a spot in the tournament, it would be their first appearance since 2017.
They will have another golden chance to move up the seeding when they host the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tenn.
