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As the month of February continues to get going, the college basketball calendar is just a little over a month away from the conclusion of the regular season. Shortly after that comes Selection Sunday on March 15.
As another week of college basketball heats up, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has updated his latest NCAA Tournament projection ahead of another big week of basketball. In the bracket, Vanderbilt is listed as a No. 4-seed in the West Region, taking on No. 13-seed UNC Wilmington in the first round. The Commodores would be sent to play in Tampa, Florida if Lunardi’s projection stands.
If Vanderbilt were to beat the Seahawks, it would take on the winner of No. 5-seed St. Johns or No. 12-seed Belmont in the second round.
In all the various bracket projections over the past few weeks, it seems as though the worst case scenario for Vanderbilt right now would be a No. 4-seed, which is certainly a positive sign. It could perhaps show it has created some sort of separation between itself and the No. 5 and No. 6 seed lines, which are historically prime upsets alert spots.
Vanderbilt is in the middle of its midweek bye after beating Ole Miss 71-68 in its last outing. The Commodores are on a three-game winning streak and are in pursuit of a SEC regular season title. What is most important for Vanderbilt right now is getting healthy. The Commodores have been without Duke Miles for the past two games and without Frankie Collins since mid-December. However, Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington did give some hint that Collins could return soon.
In terms of its NCAA Tournament position, Vanderbilt is favorable in five of its next six games, according to ESPN analytics. Taking advantage in order to improve its potential seeding is a must.
8 days
There were no games played yesterday.
No. 7 Vanderbilt women’s basketball at No. 16 Kentucky, 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
A full look at the bracket 👀#FightDores ⚓️⬇️ https://t.co/TZoKWtI9PW
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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