Garden State Awaits – vucommodores.com

No. 5 Commodores head to Newark, New Jersey on Monday for a top-10 contest at the 2026 Coretta Scott King Classic
No. 5/5 Vanderbilt (18-0, 5-0 SEC) vs. No. 8/7 Michigan (15-2, 6-1 BIG TEN)
Monday, Jan. 19, 2026 • 1:30 p.m. CT
Prudential Center • Newark, N.J. • FOX
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Notes
NEWARK, N.J. – The No. 5-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is set for a nationally-televised, top-10 matchup on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as the Commodores take on No. 8/7-ranked Michigan in the Coretta Scott King Classic, an event to showcase and honor the legacy and values of the King family. Tipoff against the Wolverines from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, airs live at 1:30 p.m. CT on FOX.
Starting Five
>> The Coretta Scott King Classic is a national showcase that highlights women’s college basketball while honoring the legacy and values of Coretta Scott King and the King family. The contest between Vanderbilt and Michigan will be the second of two top-15 matchups played at the Prudential Center, home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, on Monday afternoon. No. 10/8 TCU and No. 14/15 Ohio State open the event at 11 a.m. CT.
>> The Dores head to the Coretta Scott King Classic fresh off setting the school record for the best start to a season, as Vandy stands at 18-0 overall to open 2025-26. Vanderbilt collected its 18th-straight win in an 89-84 victory at Mississippi State on Thursday. All-American Mikayla Blakes scored a season-high 38 points, which is the ninth-most points scored in a game in program history.
>> The 18-straight wins by the Commodores to open 2025-26 is the longest winning streak at any point in a season in school history.
>> Vanderbilt’s 18-game winning streak is the third-longest active streak in the country coming into the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. Only UConn (35) and Texas Tech (19) have won more consecutive games than the Commodores.
>> The Dores and Wolverines matchup for the fifth time in a series that dates back to the 1988-89 season. Vanderbilt holds a 3-1 lead, though Michigan won the last game, 50-42, in Ann Arbor on Nov. 23, 2008. This will be the second neutral-site contest between the two schools. They also played the Reebok Roundball Classic in Norfolk, Virginia, on Dec. 12, 1988, where Vandy captured a 95-86 win.
Game Coverage
Sunday’s contest airs live on FOX at 1:30 p.m. CT with Dave Sims and Isis Young 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 came in at No. 5 in both the Associated Press top 25 and the USA Today/WBCA Coaches poll this week. It marks the program’s highest ranking in either poll since the 2001-02 season, when Vanderbilt ended the 2001-02 season ranked No 4 in the AP poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/WBCA coaches poll.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt holds a NET ranking of nine heading into the weekend. Vandy has collected two Quad 1 wins, four Quad 2 victories and five Quad 3 wins through the first 18 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.
Returning to the Garden State
Monday’s contest in the Coretta Scott King Classic will be a homecoming for a pair of Commodores, as senior Justine Pissott and sophomore Mikayla Blakes return to their home state. Pissott is a Tom Rivers, New Jersey, native and had an illustrious prep career at Red Bank Catholic High School in Red Bank. Blakes is from Somerset, New Jersey, and had a standout career at Rutgers Prep in Franklin Township.
The Garden State talents earned McDonald’s All-American honors during their prep careers. Both were five-star recruits and ranked inside the top-12 in the ESPNW/HoopGurlz Top 100 in their respective classes.
Undefeated
Vanderbilt has won all 18 of its games this season, coming into Monday. The Commodores are one of three undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division I this season, and they are the only remaining unbeaten SEC team.
Nonconference Domination
The Commodores are 62-19 against nonconference foes in the Ralph era. Vanderbilt has won 19 consecutive regular-season games against non-SEC teams.
Road Warriors
The Commodores are 8-0 in road and neutral site games this season. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, the Dores are 28-12 in contests outside of Memorial Gymnasium.
Another Top-10 Performance for Blakes
All-American Mikayla Blakes’ 38-point effort at Mississippi State on Thursday marked the ninth-most points scored in a contest in Vanderbilt history. It is the sophomore’s third top-10 scoring performance during her time at Vandy, as she holds the school record for most points scored in a game with 55 at Auburn on Feb. 16, 2025, and her 53 points at Florida on Jan. 30, 2025, rank second-most in school history.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan holds a 15-2 overall record and a 6-1 mark in BIG TEN play. The Wolverines are ranked No. 6 in the NET ranking coming into the weekend. UM is looking to extend a four-game winning streak, while the Wolverines are 2-1 in neutral-site games this season. Michigan is in Year 14 under head coach Kim Barnes-Arico, who is 299-146 overall at the school.
Sophomore Olivia Olson (18.1 ppg) leads a quartet of sophomores who average double-digit points for the Wolverines this season. Syla Swords is putting up 13.7 points, while Mila Holloway (12.1 ppg) and Te’Yala Delfosse (11.5 ppg) round out the group of double-figure scorers.
The Wolverines average 88.7 points per game. Defensively, they allow 58.4 points to the opposition. Michigan is shooting 47.3 percent from the floor and 32.8 percent from behind the arc. Defensively, UM allows opponents to shoot 36.6 percent from the field and 28.9 percent beyond the 3-point line.
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