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Evaluating Vanderbilt WBB Path to a Championship: The Anchor

Your daily briefing on what’s going on with Vanderbilt Athletics.
Graham Baakko|
Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph works with her team during the first half of a second round NCAA college basketball tournament game against Illinois at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, March 23, 2026.
Vanderbilt coach Shea Ralph works with her team during the first half of a second round NCAA college basketball tournament game against Illinois at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, March 23, 2026. | ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt women’s basketball is in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009. The Commodores took down No. 7 seed Illinois 75-57 at home to advance to the regional semifinals in Fort Worth Friday afternoon.

The Commodores will take on No. 6 seed Notre Dame in a game that Vanderbilt should be very capable of winning. It has been 17 years since Vanderbilt has made it this far as the No. 2 seeded Commodores have their best roster in years, led by Mikayla Blakes.

What would the most likely path to a National Championship be if Vanderbilt were to get past Notre Dame Friday?

In the Elite Eight, Vanderbilt would almost certainly have to play No. 1 overall UConn. The Huskies have once again been dominant all year, but have played in the Big East, a conference in which UConn is the only ranked team. UConn has not been tested often this season, which could be a benefit to Vanderbilt.

If Vanderbilt was able to make it to the Final Four, it would more than likely see No. 1 seed South Carolina. The Commodores lost to the Gamecocks on the road earlier this season. Vanderbilt played South Carolina at the worst time of the year as the Gamecocks were coming off a loss and played desperate and got the win.

But if Vanderbilt were able to get revenge and make it all the way to the championship game, there is almost no doubt it would play one of the other two one seeds in UCLA or Texas. Vanderbilt beat Texas at home in late February while UCLA ran through the Big Ten, dominating its opponents this season.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Season Opener

164 days

The Anchor: Wednesday, March 25, 2026

  • No. 2 seed Vanderbilt women’s basketball is currently a 5.5-point favorite over No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Commodores and FIghting Irish tipoff at 1:30 p.m. CT Friday.
  • Former Vanderbilt football tight end Eli Stowers was confirmed to be one of the players that had a top 30 draft visit with the Denver Broncos, per Luca Evans of the Denver Post.
  • Vanderbilt women’s basketball has the sixth-best odds to win the National Championship at 75-1 odds, behind UConn, Texas, UCLA, South Carolina and LSU.

Tuesday’s Commodores Results

Vanderbilt baseball beat Tennessee Tech 15-5.

Wednesday’s Commodores Schedule

Vanderbilt lacrosse at Louisville, 11 a.m. CT on ACC Network+.

Commodores Quote of The Day

“I await the hour when a journalist can be driven from the press room for venal practices, a minister can be unfrocked, or a lawyer disbarred.”
Grantland Rice

We’ll Leave You With This…

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Graham Baakko
GRAHAM BAAKKO

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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