Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt Falls to Oklahoma in 97-67 Blowout, But NCAA Hopes Stay Alive

Oklahoma dominated Vanderbilt 97-67, but the Commodores still have a solid shot at the NCAA Tournament and here's why.

Taylor Hodges

Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jason Edwards (1) shoots the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center.
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jason Edwards (1) shoots the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
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No. 24 Vanderbilt’s feel-good season took an abrupt turn south Saturday in the Sooner state.

Unranked Oklahoma won 97-67 against the Commodores on its home court after trailing by four points at halftime.

The loss will most likely result in Vanderbilt falling out of the top 25 rankings, but its goal of earning an invitation to the NCAA Tournament in March is still well within reach.

The Commodores were the No. 9 seeded West Region team in the latest version of Joe Lunardi’s Men’s Bracketology: 2025 NCAA Tournament for ESPN. That projection had the Commodores facing Gonzaga in the first round.

Saturday’s 30-point loss to an unranked Sooners team (albeit with a similar record) won’t hurt Vanderbilt too much. That’s thanks mostly to wins against then-No. 6 Tennessee (76-75) and then-No. 9 Kentucky (74-69).

So, don’t expect Vanderbilt to fall too far in the next round of NCAA tournament projections.

For a comparison, Lunardi had Texas (15-7, 4-5 SEC) as the No. 11 seed in the West region and beat LSU on Saturday. The Longhorns have two wins against ranked teams, but the highest ranked was then-No. 13 Texas A&M.

Vanderbilt’s pair of ranked-opponent wins is definitely better than the two Texas has. The Commodores will remain seeded higher than Texas, which also means they won’t fall very far.

And the Commodores, who have plenty of experience with upset wins this school year, will have more chances to improve their NCAA tournament resume. Seven of their next eight games are against ranked opponents, beginning Tuesday at No. 5 Florida.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Taylor Hodges is a staff writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI covering all-things Vanderbilt. Taylor brings more than a decade’s worth of award-winning sports writing, photography and video experience covering every level of sports — from Little League baseball to professional sports and other sports like hunting and fishing. Taylor is fueled by his lifelong passion for sports that began the same day Kirk Gibson hit his legendary World Series walk-off home run, Arkansas beat Texas in Austin and No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts game.

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