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Vanderbilt men’s basketball got some big scheduling news Monday morning with the official release of its SEC slate for the 2026-27 season.
Vanderbilt will begin and finish its conference schedule with matchups against in-state rival Tennessee. The Commodores will visit Tennessee to start conference play on Jan. 2 before ending the regular season with hosting the Volunteers on Senior Day March 6.
Last season, Vanderbilt and Tennessee split their regular season meetings, with the road team winning both times. However, the Commodores ended up winning the season series after beating Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament en route to an appearance in the SEC Championship Game.
In between those two rivalry games, are 16 other games against SEC foes. Vanderbilt’s SEC home opener will be against Mississippi State on either Jan. 5 or 6. It will be the only time that the two teams meet. The other teams the Commodores will only host are South Carolina on Jan. 12 or 13, Auburn on Jan. 19 or 20, Missouri on Jan. 23, Arkansas on Feb. 6 and Texas on Feb. 13.
The teams Vanderbilt will only see on the road are Florida on Jan. 9, Ole Miss on Jan. 26 or 27, LSU on Feb. 2 or 3, Georgia on Feb. 9 or 10, Alabama on Feb. 27 and Oklahoma on March 2 or 3.
In addition to playing Tennessee twice, Vanderbilt will take on Kentucky and Texas A&M twice. Vanderbilt goes to Lexington Jan. 16 before hosting the Wildcats Feb. 23 or 24. The Commodores host Texas A&M Jan. 30 before going to College Station Feb. 20.
The midweek bye for Vanderbilt will take place in between the week of Feb. 13 and Feb. 20. The times and television information for all 18 conference games will be announced at a later date.
Vanderbilt is coming off a season where it finished in fourth place in the SEC during the regular season and was the runner-up in the SEC Tournament. The Commodores were a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell in a heartbreaker to No. 4 seed Nebraska in the Round of 32.
Here is the full 18-game schedule for Vanderbilt.
Jan. 2: at Tennessee
Jan. 5 or 6: vs. Mississippi State
Jan. 9: at Florida
Jan. 12 or 13: vs. South Carolina
Jan. 16: at Kentucky
Jan. 19 or 20: vs. Auburn
Jan. 23: vs. Missouri
Jan. 26 or 27: at Ole Miss
Jan. 30: at Texas A&M
Feb. 2 or 3: at LSU
Feb. 6: vs. Arkansas
Feb. 9 or 10: at Georgia
Feb. 13: vs. Texas
Feb. 20: at Texas A&M
Feb. 23 or 24: vs. Kentucky
Feb. 27: at Alabama
March 2 or 3: at Oklahoma
March 6: vs. Tennessee
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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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