Column: Vanderbilt Basketball Must Take Advantage of Its Upcoming Stretch – Sports Illustrated

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Vanderbilt basketball walked off the court of Bud Walton Arena following what Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington called an "embarrassing" performance. The Commodores were trounced by Arkansas 93-68 in a game where they did not look competitive at any point in the game. On top of that, it was Vanderbilt’s third consecutive loss after a 16-0 start to the season.
All of the sudden, Vanderbilt went from the top of the SEC down to the middle of the pack. Of course, with plenty of games remaining in the regular season at the time, the three-game losing streak was not the end of the world. But the conversation surrounding this Vanderbilt team quickly turned dismissive of the fact that the Commodores could have any chance of a SEC regular season title. It was as if Vanderbilt became a fraudulent team overnight in the eyes of the fans outside of Nashville.
But over the last three games, something has noticeably changed about this Commodores team that has allowed them to get back on their winning ways. As winners of three in a row, Vanderbilt has looked like a much better team than it did just a couple of weeks ago.
Vanderbilt has defended much better than it did for its first six SEC games. Against Mississippi State, Kentucky and Ole Miss, Vanderbilt has allowed just 59.7 points per game after allowing over 70 points in each of its first six conference games.
After being 3-3 and in the middle of the SEC race, the Commodores now find themselves at 6-3 in the conference, tied for third with Arkansas and Kentucky. There is only a 1.5-game separation from Vanderbilt and the current first place team, Texas A&M.
By the eye test, Vanderbilt has started to create somewhat of a separation between it and the middle of the pack teams in the conference. While this season’s SEC is not as much of a gauntlet as last season’s 14-bid conference was, it is just as tight as it was a year ago.
And that is why Vanderbilt has to take advantage of its upcoming stretch.
The second half of the Commodores’ SEC slate features four home games and five road games. Three of the final five road games are all stacked next to each other in the final three games of the regular season. Vanderbilt has two of its next three at home and four of its next six at home before the gauntlet of a finish on the road against Kentucky, Ole Miss and Tennessee.
This upcoming stretch is meaningful in many ways. First, the upcoming schedule contains games Vanderbilt should win. It is imperative the Commodores take care of those games. Secondly, the schedule presents Vanderbilt opportunities to stack wins that impact its standing in the SEC as well as its seed line in the NCAA Tournament.
After Vanderbilt gets off its midweek bye, the next three games for Vanderbilt are at home against Oklahoma on Feb. 7, at Auburn Feb. 10 and at home against Texas A&M on Feb. 14.
The game against Oklahoma is a must-win game in the sense that Vanderbilt’s pursuit for a regular season SEC title cannot be put in jeopardy by losing to the team that is currently in last place in the conference. Also, losing to Oklahoma would certainly be a bad loss for the NCAA Tournament resume that would possibly bump Vanderbilt down a full seed line.
Playing Auburn on the road is going to be a tough game, but it is one in which Vanderbilt can win. The Tigers struggled to start SEC play, but have bounced back nicely, using a win at Florida to get them above .500 in the conference. But playing Auburn on the road is an opportunity for Vanderbilt to add a quad I win to its tournament resume.
Similarly, against Texas A&M, Vanderbilt will have the chance to knock off a team that it is pursuing a conference title with. Playing the Aggies at home is a chance for Vanderbilt to take advantage of a team that has still not beaten a ranked team all season despite Texas A&M’s 7-1 conference record.
The three games after contain two more home games against Tennessee and Georgia and a road game at Missouri. Again, more opportunities for Vanderbilt to stack wins against teams it is very capable of being and games it could likely be favored in.
In fact, according to ESPN analytics, Vanderbilt is favored in five of the next six games. This makes the Commodores’ upcoming stretch quite favorable. What matters is if Vanderbilt is going to take advantage of it or not.
If the tight conference standings tell any story, it is that even getting one extra win or a team separating itself by just one game could be the difference between getting a SEC regular season title or not. Additionally, it could be the difference between getting a double-bye or just a single bye at the SEC Tournament.
The bottom line remains: Vanderbilt must win the games it should win for its own sake. And there are plenty of chances to do so ahead.
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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