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College Basketball Bubble Watch: Vanderbilt aims to return to NCAA Tournament

By Nathaniel Reeves

LAWRENCE, KS - DECEMBER 03: Head coach Jerod Haase of the Stanford Cardinal motions from the bench during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on December 3, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - DECEMBER 03: Head coach Jerod Haase of the Stanford Cardinal motions from the bench during the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse on December 3, 2016 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: Head coach Bryce Drew of the Vanderbilt Commodores looks on in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – MARCH 16: Head coach Bryce Drew of the Vanderbilt Commodores looks on in the first half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Vanderbilt Commodores 

Bryce Drew has done a great job during his brief tenure at Vanderbilt so far, but the Commodores have some major work to do for a return trip to the NCAA Tournament after losing on Monday night.

After a disappointing end to the Kevin Stallings era, Vanderbilt hired one of the nation’s hottest up-and-coming head coaches in Drew, who led the Commodores to a 19-16 record and berth in the NCAA Tournament. Vanderbilt suffered a heartbreaking loss to Northwestern in the first round, but there was plenty of optimism for the future given Drew’s track record and gains in recruiting.

The Commodores lost a pair of starters from last year, including First-Team All-SEC forward Luke Kornet, who was a matchup nightmare with the NCAA record for made 3-point shots by a 7-footer. Still, Vanderbilt entered the season as a fringe NCAA Tournament team with leading scorer Matthew Fisher-Davis back, along with four-star point guard Saban Lee joining the fray.

Things got off to a good enough start last Friday with a win over Austin Peay before the Commodores dropped a 69-60 game at Belmont to begin the week. Belmont is one of the nation’s more consistent mid-major programs, but was coming off a collapse at Washington and will still be a black mark on Vanderbilt’s resume later this year.

For the second straight year, Vanderbilt projects to be on the bubble all season long, and can’t drop many more games to mid-major opponents. Vanderbilt will look to survive North Carolina-Asheville on Saturday before getting an opportunity to pick up a huge victory when No. 10 USC visits Nashville on Sunday.