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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Welcome to Selection Sunday, where Vanderbilt basketball goes for its first SEC Tournament Championship since 2012.
Two seasons ago, this day was a fever dream and perhaps seemed like an impossibility to the fanbase. A 9-23 record and a first round exit in the SEC Tournament in 2024 did give fans much promise on the trajectory of the program going forward.
Then came along head coach Mark Byington from James Madison. Byington’s impact was felt quickly as he took Vanderbilt back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2016-2017 season a year ago. This year, Vanderbilt is going back again. But Byington’s impact in year two has been even greater, coaching the Commodores to a 26-7. The 26 wins are tied for the most wins in a season in program history.
Today, Vanderbilt has an opportunity to set a new record for wins in a season at the SEC Tournament Championship Game as Vanderbilt takes on No. 3 seed Arkansas.
This is the second time the Commodores and Razorbacks have met this season. The first meeting between these two was arguably Vanderbilt’s worst performance of the season, losing to Arkansas 93-68 on Jan. 20.
It was a day in which Byington called his team’s performance "embarrassing." Today, the Commodores have an opportunity to avenge that loss and put one last big win on the resume before the reveal of the NCAA Tournament bracket.
With Vanderbilt coming off wins against Tennessee and Florida, it seems to have secured a No. 4 seed in the tournament. The question is if Vanderbilt will be protected and sent to a relatively close location. A win today could do that.
Today’s game is all about the guards. Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner and Duke Miles against Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas. Acuff Jr. and Thomas got the better of Vanderbilt last time around. It is time to see if Tanner and Miles have a response.
Tipoff between Vanderbilt and Arkansas is set for approximately 12 p.m. CT on ESPN
Follow the live blog here for live updates from today’s Vanderbilt-Arkansas game.
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Vanderbilt gets its largest lead of the game at 55-49 and forces an Arkansas timeout. Commodore fans are well represented today and are making themselves known. Vanderbilt has outscored Arkansas by 8 this half. pic.twitter.com/v3zoH5fJMr
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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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