Before the SEC Tournament started, the Vanderbilt Commodores were on the outside looking in to the NCAA Tournament field.
The Vanderbilt Commodores made the short drive across Nashville to Bridgestone Arena with a 17-14 record. All they did when they got there was knock off Texas A&M and beat Florida for the third time this season, reaching the semifinals for the SEC Tournament.
The Commodores are now 19-15, and in Joe Lunardi’s most recent Bracketology, he has them listed as a no. 9-seed.
Case Against Vanderbilt
19-15 is not a strong record for a team that wants an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Commodores have a 15-14 record against the RPI (rankings power index) Top 150. And they lost to Missouri, a team that went 8-24, and 2-16 in conference play this season.
Case for Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is now no. 38 in the RPI, and they have the no. 1 SOS (strength of schedule) in the country.
The Commodores also have the no. 1 non-conference SOS. They played five NCAA tournament teams in the non-conference in Butler, Dayton, Minnesota, and Middle Tennessee State, and got a win against Iowa State.
Vanderbilt played well against top competition this season. The Commodores went 6-8 against the RPI Top 50, and maybe the most impressive part of their resume was beating the no. 10 Gators three times this season, including the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. It’s difficult to beat anybody three times in one season, much less a top 10 team.
Another thing the committee looks at is current form, and Vanderbilt is playing their best basketball right now, winning 8 of their last 12 games.
Prediction: IN
Vanderbilt was definitely not a lock going into the SEC Tournament, they were arguably not even in the field. But after a strong performance down the stretch, the Commodores might not even be on the bubble. They look more like a lock for the NCAA Tournament.