The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 88 is Vanderbilt basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Vanderbilt basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 1
- Sweet 16s: 6
- NCAA wins: 11
- Bids: 17
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 13.9
- Bids per season: 0.14
- AP Polls: 222
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 4
- NBA players drafted & played: 22
- Conference Players of the Year: 8
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 3
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 1
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Vanderbilt basketball
We head to the SEC for program number 88 as Vanderbilt comes in next!
The Commodores don’t have a lot of history, but they’re making waves as of late. 10 of their 17 NCAA Tournaments have come since 2004, with 15 coming since 1988.
For the small history Vandy does have, you have to go to 1965 when they made the Elite 8 and 1974 when they made the Sweet 16. Both came under Roy Skinner, who won 278 games with Vanderbilt, the second most in program history. The 1965 squad featured 2x Consensus All-American Clyde Lee, who also had a solid pro career.
The years after Skinner were solid, with a Sweet 16 in 1988 and another in 1993. They also won the NIT in 1990, but went through a few different coaches, hurting their chances at really building something lasting.
The winningest coach in Commodores history might surprise you a bit – Kevin Stallings. From 1999 to 2016, he won 332 games and led Vandy to seven NCAA Tournaments. It even included Sweet 16s in 2004 and 2007, and just two losing records. However, Stallings would leave for Pitt, and his college basketball coaching career would stall out, with just two seasons with the Panthers.
The Commodores actually made the tourney their first season with Bryce Drew, but the next two were very rough years in town. It didn’t necessarily improve with Jerry Stackhouse, but players like Darius Garland, Aaron Nesmith, and Saben Lee did play under those two coaches.
However, the current Vanderbilt basketball team under Mark Byington is showing lots of potential. Through two seasons, he has gone 47-22, with 27 wins last year and a round of 32 appearance in March Madness. For a program with zero Final Fours, yet six Sweet 16s, Vanderbilt is knocking, and Byington might be the guy to finally get them there.
It’s also worth mentioning how cool Vanderbilt’s home arena is, with a raised floor. We see that setup at the Final Four, but they get it every home game, and it’s a cool touch for the arena.
Vanderbilt also holds the distinction of having played the first-ever college basketball game, defeating Nashville YMCA, 9-6, on Feb. 7, 1893. This was just two years after the game was even created.
And as far as notable players besides the ones aforementioned, others include Will Perdue, Festus Ezeli, and Luke Kornet.
Is Vanderbilt your top-notch SEC hoops school? No, but they have some unique history, some long runs in March, and are so close to breaking through and really improving their overall print on the game.