Vanderbilt Commodores’ Downturn Isn’t Hurting NCAA Tournament Hopes Yet

The Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball team took a bit of a ding in the latest bracketology release earlier this week.

Oct 16, 2024; Birmingham, AL, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Shea Ralph talks with the media during SEC Media Days at Grand Bohemian Hotel. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Two straight losses early in SEC play isn’t the time to panic for the Vanderbilt Commodores women’s basketball team. But it’s a trend coach Shea Ralph and her squad want to buck soon.

That won’t be easy. The next game is a road tilt on Monday in Baton Rouge, La., as the Commodores 14-3,1-2 in SEC) will face the No. 6 LSU Tigers (18-0, 3-0), with tipoff set for 6 p.m. at the Maravich Center.

The game will be carried on the SEC Network and can be heard on 94.9 The Fan.

No, a trip to take on the Tigers at home is never easy, much less when the Tigers are one of the nation’s few remaining undefeated teams.

Vanderbilt already has one loss to a Top 25 SEC team after falling to Kentucky. That was followed by a loss to Ole Miss earlier this week, which hurt the Commodores just a bit in ESPN’s bracketology release on Friday.

Vanderbilt lost a seed spot, but they remain a higher seed. As a No. 8 seed, the Commodores would be projected to play No. 9 Nebraska in a sub-regional held in Los Angeles and hosted by UCLA at Pauley Pavilion.

The Commodores are nowhere near the bubble. But that’s not a place Vanderbilt wants to be, and with rigorous games ahead, any contest — especially one against an unranked SEC team — is a chance to bolster the resume.

Ralph led the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament last year in her third season at the helm, ending a long drought.

Vandy finished the season 23-10, but its sixth-place finish in the SEC only bought the Commodores a No. 12 seed and a First For game with Columbia. Vanderbilt won that game before falling to No. 5 seed Baylor, 80-63.

The strength of the SEC will only get a team like Vanderbilt so far when it comes to NCAA Tournament seeding, if last season is any indication.

For the Commodores to win these kinds of SEC games, it comes down to the contributions of players like Khamil Pierre and Mikayla Blakes.

Pierre was named to the Top 25 for the John R. Wooden Award earlier this week. The 6-2 forward is averaging a double-double with 22.1 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She’s even dishing out 2.1 assists.

Blakes is the leading scorer among all freshmen. The 5-8 guard is averaging 20.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

The Commodores will need both to bring their ‘A’ game against the Tigers.