Vanderbilt Basketball’s Most Likely Path to a SEC Tournament Championship: The Anchor

Your daily briefing on what’s going on with Vanderbilt Athletics.

Mar 7, 2026; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Tyler Nickel (5) shoots a free throw against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Vanderbilt men’s basketball will continue to rest as it awaits its opponent in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Basketball Tournament.

The Commodores will take on the winner of No. 12 seed Auburn and No. 5 seed Tennessee at 2:30 p.m. CT Friday. Vanderbilt is coming to Bridgestone Arena with the goal of returning to its nearby campus with a conference title trophy.

But it will not be an easy road having to play three games in three days against teams that will more than likely be in the NCAA Tournament and potentially still be alive come the second weekend of the tournament. So, what would Vanderbilt’s most likely path to a tournament title run be?

If percentages of and odds play out like chalk, Vanderbilt would play its in-state rival for the third time this season to tip off its tournament run. What will be different in a hypothetical third matchup is that Tennessee will have both Nate Ament and JP Estrella available. Vanderbilt played the Volunteers without Estrella in the meeting in Nashville before playing them without Ament in the meeting in Knoxville.

If Vanderbilt moved to the semifinal, it would more than likely face off against top-seeded Florida Saturday afternoon. Vanderbilt fell to the Gators 98-94 in the lone matchup early in the conference play. Florida has been red hot since conference play began as it is starting to play up to its championship standards.

If Vanderbilt pulled off an upset against Florida, it would most likely play either No. 2 seed Alabama or No. 3 seed Arkansas. Vanderbilt beat Alabama at home, but lost to Arkansas earlier this season.

Of course, this path is not the most ideal path to a tournament title. The Commodores would probably rather take on Auburn Friday and hope that a team like Florida gets upset in the quarterfinals. Regardless, Vanderbilt has an opportunity this week to bolster its resume and jump into the protected seed conversation.

Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Season Opener

177 days

The Anchor: Thursday, March 12, 2026

• Vanderbilt women’s basketball star point guard Mikayla Blakes is a finalist for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award. It is the second consecutive season that Blakes is in the final five in consideration for the award.

• Vanderbilt women’s tennis freshman Erin Pearce was named the SEC Freshman of the Week while Celia-Belle Mohr earned the SEC Player of the Week as the two helped upset No. 1 Georgia and No. 11 South Carolina in the Commodores previous two games.

• Tennessee men's basketball ended up practicing at Vanderbilt's Memorial Gymnasium in preparation for the SEC Tournament. The arena was open to every team in the conference and the Volunteers chose to take Vanderbilt up on the offer.

Wednesday’s Commodores Results

Vanderbilt lacrosse lost to Coastal Carolina 8-7.

Thursday’s Commodores Schedule

Vanderbilt swimming at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship, Day 1.

Commodores Quote of The Day

“This is the worst day I have ever had as an athletics director. There wasn’t one media person or bracket that I saw that did not have us in. It did not even seem like we were on the bubble.”

Todd Turner on this date in 2000

We’ll Leave You With This…

Trading places

Maldo 🤝 @ManciniMike5 pic.twitter.com/ZSeUxpFzOn

— Vanderbilt Baseball (@VandyBoys) March 11, 2026

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