Texas Blows Out Vanderbilt to Whittle Number of Men’s Hoops Unbeatens to Three

Another one bites the dust.

Dailyn Swain and Texas took it to Vanderbilt Wednesday night in Austin. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

And then there were three.

In a matter of five days, the number of undefeated teams in men’s college basketball has been cut in half—all at the hands of unranked foes. The latest: No. 10 Vanderbilt, an 80–64 loser to Texas Wednesday behind 22 points from center Matas Vokietaitis.

The Commodores’ loss followed then-No. 2 Michigan’s 91–88 loss to Wisconsin Saturday at home and current No. 2 Iowa State’s 84–63 flop at Kansas on Tuesday.

With Vanderbilt’s sinking, the three remaining holdouts in the men’s game are No. 1 Arizona (16-0), No. 8 Nebraska (17-0), and Miami-Ohio (18-0). The Wildcats tipped off a rivalry game against Arizona State late Wednesday; they aren’t scheduled to play a ranked team until visiting No. 11 BYU on Jan. 26. The Cornhuskers have three games against unranked foes before visiting the Wolverines, while the Redhawks (beneficiaries of one of the nation’s weakest schedules) tower over the rest of the MAC.

Vanderbilt—still a national contender under second-year coach Mark Byington and the owner of one of the game’s most powerful offenses—has two quick opportunities to reassert itself. The Commdores will host No. 19 Florida on Saturday and visit No. 17 Arkansas just three days later.

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