Vanderbilt is finding a way to stay relevant late in the season. They stunned Kentucky and Tennessee early in the year and have since been simmering in SEC play. They returned to a boiling hot team in the conference after knocking off Ole Miss on Saturday.
And with the win, they are once again getting a stronger hold on an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Despite having a losing conference record and being seven games back from leader Auburn, Vanderbilt is still a bubble team.
In Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology update, the Commodores are slotted as one of the last four teams in. After the win over Ole Miss, there’s a chance the Commodores are a tournament lock. But what if they aren’t?
Well if they still need to beef up their resume, they have games against Texas A&M, Arkansas, Missouri and Georgia – all of which are Quad 1 opponents except for Arkansas. If they manage to squeeze out a couple wins in that stretch and string together a couple wins in the SEC tournament and it should be enough to convince the committee.
What does Vanderbilt’s late-season win over Ole Miss mean for NCAA Tournament hopes?
Vanderbilt should be a tournament lock after beating Ole Miss. While they just have three wins over Quad 1 teams this season, each win has been against a ranked Quad 1 team. That goes a long way to convincing the committee they’re worthy of a spot.
That said, the Commodores have to get a win or two in the SEC tournament. I feel like with bubble teams, the regular season isn’t going to have a massive impact at this point. I think if a team closes out the regular season strong but doesn’t get at least one win in the conference tournament, that could be the fatal flaw.
Vanderbilt has proven it can beat strong teams in the SEC. So getting wins in the first couple rounds should be a given. In fact, Vanderbilt should put a couple SEC teams on upset alert. And if they run into a buzzsaw early in the tournament, a close win is key to solidifying their resume.
Getting a win over Ole Miss is big. But it might not be enough to get an automatic bid just yet. The good thing is, they aren’t far off now.