Vanderbilt Commodores Receives Lofty Ranking From College Basketball Analyst
It has been a while since the Vanderbilt Commodores were making noise in men’s college basketball.
The last time they received a bid to the NCAA Tournament was in 2017, as their drought reached seven years last season. Because of that, the team opted to move on from head coach Jerry Stackhouse, who was able to lead the team to a winning record in only two out of five years at the helm.
The former NBA star compiled a record of 70-92 and won the SEC Coach of the Year award for the 2022-23 season when the Commodores went 22-15 and won two games in the NIT over the Yale Bulldogs and Michigan Wolverines before falling to the UAB Blazers.
But, a 9-23 campaign followed up that successful one. As a result, a year later, Stackhouse was out of a job as the school looked elsewhere for a head coach who could provide the team with a jolt.
They came away with a great one, hiring Mark Byington away from the James Madison Dukes after their historic run to the NCAA Tournament. They went 32-4, ranking as high as No. 18 during the season.
The Dukes had a winning record under Byington every season he was at the helm. Vanderbilt hopes that he can bring some of that success over to their program, as he faces an uphill battle in what is a loaded SEC.
Despite the difficulties of their conference, one college basketball analyst believes that the Commodores can surprise some people this season. Jay Bilas of ESPN, in his Bilas Index, revealed his 68 best teams in men’s college basketball this season.
Coming in at No. 51 was Vanderbilt.
“Another program with a new coach and new roster (in case you missed the theme of this season). Mark Byington is coming off a historic season at James Madison, including beating No. 4 Michigan State in the season opener and upsetting 5-seed Wisconsin in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA tournament. It marked the Dukes' first NCAA tournament win since 1983. Byington brought only one player from his former team but has stacked the Commodores with high-major and mid-major talent.”
Ven-Allen Lubin, who averaged 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, transferred to the North Carolina Tar Heels. Malik Presley took his talents to the Texas Longhorns. Tyrin Lawrence landed with the Georgia Bulldogs in the transfer portal.
As Bilas noted, there was a lot of work to do with the roster, as it will take some time for Byington to bring in players who fit his system.
Devin McGlockton from the Boston College Eagles and Jason Edwards from the North Texas Mean Green have been leading the way over the first two games of the season. Veteran point guard A.J. Hoggard from the Michigan State Spartans was a solid addition as well.
