SEC Conference Play Tips Off This Weekend: The Anchor
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It is officially one of the best times of the college basketball calendar as conference play commences Saturday as Vanderbilt hits the road to begin its slate at South Carolina.
Vanderbilt will enter SEC play undefeated, surpassing its preseason expectations as the Commodores looked to be one of, if not, the best team in the SEC from the first week of November up to now. Vanderbilt has been one of the most explosive offenses in college basketball, averaging 94.2 points per game. Vanderbilt has hit the century mark in four games this season.
Vanderbilt’s SEC opener against South Carolina is likely going to be one of the more favorable matchups it will have in its 18-game conference schedule, but it will no doubt still be a challenge.
South Carolina men’s basketball X, or Twitter, account posted an announcement encouraging fans to show up to the game. The Gamecocks realize Vanderbilt is a tough team, but also believe they could beat Vanderbilt. In nonconference play, South Carolina played three games against power conference opponents: Virginia Tech, Clemson and Northwestern. In those three games, South Carolina went 0-3 while averaging 73.3 points per game.
Vanderbilt is looking to continue its hot start to the season. At 13-0, it is the Commodores best start to a season since they started 16-0 in the 2007-2008 season. With conference play starting up, it gives Vanderbilt more opportunities to record quadrant I victories. Though it has been a down year for the SEC compared to a year ago, there are still seven SEC teams ranked in the top 30 in the NET and 10 teams in the conference ranked in the top 50 of the NET.
Vanderbilt and South Carolina tip off SEC play Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
This Weekend’s Commodores Schedule
No. 11 Vanderbilt men’s basketball at South Carolina, Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
No. 12 Vanderbilt women’s basketball vs. No. 5 LSU, Sunday at 4 p.m. CT.
Yesterday’s Commodores Results Today
Vanderbilt swimming (beat/lost to) San Diego State (score).
Vanderbilt swimming (beat/lost to) San Diego (score).
Did You Notice?
As SEC conference play begins, Vanderbilt enters as the only high-major program to go 3-0 in true road games. The Commodores were one of two high-major teams to play three true road games. Vanderbilt also went a combined 6-0 on the road and neutral site. Vanderbilt’s offense is 10th in the country in assist per game and ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. Both are second-best in the SEC.
Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Baseball Season Opener
41 days
Commodores Quote of The Day
"This is the dream, right here. And for the next 12 hours, I'm going to enjoy the dream. We've got more ahead of us, but this is what Vanderbilt football needs to be about: big wins on big stages. We're going to go get some more."Clark Lea after beating No. 1 Alabama
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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.