How is Vanderbilt Basketball's Rèsumè After Texas Loss, Prior to Florida Matchup?
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Mark Byington’s Vanderbilt team is 16-1 and has an opportunity to move to 17-1 in a Saturday game at Memorial Gymnasium that provides a stage for a potential signature win. All that stands between this group and that achievement is the defending national champion Florida Gators.
The Commodores take the floor on Saturday as the No. 10 team in the AP Top with a top 10 offense in KenPom as well as the No. 13 defense. Vanderbilt’s latest rèsumè booster prior to its win over LSU was a win over No. 13 Alabama on Wednesday.
That game–in which Vanderbilt was without Frankie Collins–demonstrated its staying power and was its biggest win of the season. Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner gave it 29 points and veteran guard Duke Miles propelled it with 19 points. The Commodores now have a second quad 1A win on their rèsumè.
“We have a chance to have a good team,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said after the Commodores’ opener. “When you’re a coach you want hope for the season, you want optimism for the season. Some people lie about it, but I can say the truth and say I’m excited about this group. We’ll get better and better.”
As Vanderbilt has taken a leap 2025-26–Byington’s second year at the helm–it does so with a roster including just three returning scholarship players in Tyler Tanner, Devin McGlockton and Nickel. All three of which have taken on significant roles on a team that possesses an eight-man transfer class headlined by TCU point guard Frankie Collins, North Carolina big man Jalen Washington, Washington transfer Tyler Harris, Miles and Cornell wing AK Okereke.
“The priority this recruiting season was to gain some more length, size,” Vanderbilt assistant coach Xavier Joyner told Vandy on SI over the summer. “We knew going into last year we were maybe the smallest team in the SEC regarding length, size so we wanted to upgrade that, which we did.”
That class has given the Commodores a chance to be a higher seed in the NCAA Tournament than they’ve ever been. Here’s where their rèsumè stands these days.
Quad wins and losses:
Quad 1A: 2-0
Wins: Alabama, UCF
Quad 1: 5-1
Wins: Alabama, UCF, Saint Mary’s, Wake Forest, SMU
Losses: Texas
Quad 2: 4-0
Wins: LSU, VCU, Memphis, South Carolina
Quad 3: 2–0
Lipscomb, Western Kentucky
Quad 4: 5-0
Eastern Kentucky, Texas Southern, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Central Arkansas, New Haven
Other valuable metrics:
NET: 11th
Torvik: 11th
KenPom: 11th
Strength of record: 11th
KPI: 7th
Wins above bubble: 7th
BPI: 13th
NCSOS: 138th
_(1)-b3e453dfe426b2dd4b83a12540ebdb37.jpeg "Joey Dwyer")
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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