Top-Five Matchup on West End – Vanderbilt Commodores

No. 5 Commodores take on No. 4 Texas this Thursday at Memorial Gym for a top-five matchup on SEC Network+
No. 5/5 Vanderbilt (23-2, 9-2 SEC) vs. No. 4/4 Texas (23-2, 8-2 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026 • 6:30 p.m. CT
Memorial Gymnasium • Nashville, Tenn. • SEC Network+ • Tickets
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Program
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 5/5-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is set to host No. 4/4-ranked Texas in a top-five matchup at Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday. Tipoff against the Longhorns is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and streams live on SEC Network+.
Starting Five
>> Vanderbilt comes into Thursday’s top-five contest on a three-game winning streak, which includes back-to-back victories over top-25 teams. The Dores are fresh off a 102-86 win over No. 10/11 Oklahoma at Memorial Gym on Monday. Sophomore Mikayla Blakes and freshman Aubrey Galvan each scored 30 points in the victory over Oklahoma, making them the first set of Vandy teammates this century to accomplish the feat. Blakes posted her eighth 30-point performance of the season, as Blakes scored 34 points and Galvan tallied a career-high 30 points against the Sooners.
>> The Commodores hold an overall record of 23-3, which is tied with the 1992-93 Final Four team for the best start in school history through 25 games. The 1992-93 team opened the season at 23-2 and went on to win its next seven games before falling to Texas Tech in the 1993 Final Four in Atlanta.
>> Vanderbilt has won 13-straight home games this season, which is the school record for longest home winning streak in a single season. Overall, the Commodores have won 14-consecutive games at Memorial Gym dating back to last season, which is the second-longest home winning streak in total since 1999-00.
>> The Dores are 9-2 in SEC play and are currently second place in the league standings, one game back of South Carolina. Vandy is 9-2 in the SEC for the first time since the 2008-09 season, when the Commodores opened league play at 10-2.
>> The Commodores and Longhorns are meeting for just the sixth time since their first matchup during the 1984-85 season. Thursday marks the second time the two schools will face off as SEC members after Texas joined the conference prior to the 2024-25 season. Vandy leads the all-time series 4-2, though Texas won the last game, 87-67, in Austin on Feb. 06, 2025. Vanderbilt is 2-0 all-time against the Longhorns at Memorial Gym and will host Texas for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
Game Coverage
Thursday contest streams live at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network+ inside the ESPN app with Alex Gould and Shan Foster on the call. Fans can listen to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville.
National Rankings
The Commodores sit at No. 5 in both the Associated Press top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll this week. This season marks the first time since the 2001-02 campaign that the Dores have been ranked in the top 10 in both major college women’s basketball polls. Vandy has been in the top 10 in both polls each of the last six weeks, which is the longest stretch since a 20-week streak between the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt holds a NET ranking of seven heading into Thursday. Vandy has collected five Quad 1 wins, four Quad 2 victories and six Quad 3 wins through the first 25 games this season.
The Dores opened the season at No. 12 in the first NET rankings of the 2025-26 season. The NET is an evaluation tool used by the NCAA Selection Committee to determine seeding and bids.
Another SEC Weekly Honor for Blakes and Galvan
On Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference announced that Mikayla Blakes earned SEC Co-Player of the Week and Aubrey Galvan was selected as SEC Freshman of the Week. It is the third time this season that Blakes and Galvan have earned SEC honors in the same week. Overall, it is Blakes fourth SEC Player of the Week selection in 2025-26, while it is also Galvan’s fourth SEC Freshman of the Week award.
Blakes Nationally Honored
All-American Mikayla Blakes was honored by a trio of national media outlets after her back-to-back 30-point performances last week. Blakes was named the National Player of the Week by the Associated Press and World Exposure Report for the second time this season, while the guard was also selected to the NCAA Starting 5 for the third time.
Tough Stretch
Thursday’s contest marks the fifth time in the last six games that Vanderbilt will take on a top-25 team. The Commodores are set to face a team currently ranked in the top 25 in four of their five final games to close out the 2025-26 season. Vandy is 4-2 in top-25 games this season, with wins over No. 5/5 LSU (65-61) on Jan. 4, No. 7/7 Michigan (72-69) on Jan. 19, at No. 16/16 Kentucky (84-83) on Feb. 5 and No. 10/11 Oklahoma (102-86) on Feb. 9.
Taking Care of Business at Home
The Commodores are 59-21 at home under head coach Shea Ralph, and 37-9 at home since the start of the 2023-24 season. The Commodores have won 14-straight home games in a streak that dates back to the 2024-25 season. Vandy has won its first 13 home games of the 2025-26 campaign, which is the longest home winning streak in a single season in school history.
Scouting the Longhorns
Texas holds a 23-2 overall record and an 8-2 mark in the SEC play. The Longhorns came in at No. 4 in both the AP top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA coaches poll, while Texas is also No. 4 in the NET ranking. Texas has won five-straight games since losing back-to-back games at LSU and at South Carolina. The Longhorns are in Year 6 under head coach Vic Schaefer, who is 167-38 during his time in Austin and 468-210 in 21 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach.
Junior Madison Booker (18.6 ppg) leads a quartet of Longhorns who average double-digit points this season. Sophomore Jordan Lee puts up 13.4 points per game, while freshman Aaliyah Crump chips in 12.0 points per contest. Senior Kyla Oldacre rounds out the group with her 11.1 points per outing, while she leads Texas in rebounding at 6.8 rebounds per game.
The Longhorns average 86.9 points per game and allow 54.8 points per contest this season. Texas is shooting 50.5 percent from the floor and 31.8 percent from behind the arc. Defensively, the Longhorns allow opponents to shoot 37.1 percent from the field and 28.8 percent beyond the 3-point line.
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