Vanderbilt Has More Work To Do Before Cracking Men's Basketball Top 25

The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team has some work to do still to become one of the top 25 ranked teams in the nation.

Vanderbilt Commodores guard Grant Huffman (4) guards Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks guard Jose Cuello (10) during their game at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. | Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Mark Byington era for the Vanderbilt Commodores has gotten off to a wonderful start in the 2024-25 season.

The former James Madison Dukes head coach has hit the ground running in his first power conference job. He has overseen a fast start, as the Commodores improved to 9-1 with a victory over the TCU Horned Frogs, 83-74.

It is already their fourth win this year over a power conference school, as they have also defeated the California Golden Bears, Seton Hall Pirates and Virginia Tech Hokies.

Their only loss to this point was in a neutral site game to the Drake Bulldogs, who are consistently one of the best teams out of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Given that start, there are certainly some people surprised that Vanderbilt isn’t being considered for a spot in the top 25.

But, they aren’t close to receiving a number next to their name.

22 different teams received at least one vote for the most recent top 25 poll in addition to the teams that earned a ranking. The Commodores didn’t receive a single vote in either the AP or Coaches Poll, indicating they have some work left to do in the minds of voters.

While a 9-1 record is excellent, especially for a program that won only nine games in three out of the last six seasons, half of their games have come against teams the NET rank doesn’t view favorably.

Part of the way to be ranked is to handle business in games they are supposed to win which Vanderbilt has done.

They are 5-0 against Quad 4 opponents and 2-0 against Quad 2 and 3 opponents.

Their lone loss on the season was also their only Quad 1 game to this point.

Through 10 games, their average opponent NET Rank is 250. That is in line with College Basketball Reference, which has its strength of schedule at -1.63 and 220th in the country out of 364 teams.

It is going to take more than beating teams who are in the bottom half of the nation in some metrics to move into the top 25, especially when starting from as low as the Commodores seemingly were.

But, they need to continue handling business against those kinds of teams and stacking up wins. There are three more on the schedule, against The Citadel, Austin Peay and New Orleans before starting SEC play.

Heading into their conference schedule 12-1 would certainly start putting them on the radar for some voters, especially since they are going to be challenged throughout the winter with a schedule loaded with ranked opponents.