Vanderbilt Commodores

Vanderbilt Falls to Oklahoma in 97-67 Blowout, But NCAA Hopes Stay Alive

Oklahoma dominated Vanderbilt 97-67, but the Commodores still have a solid shot at the NCAA Tournament and here's why.
Taylor Hodges|
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jason Edwards (1) shoots the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center.
Vanderbilt Commodores guard Jason Edwards (1) shoots the ball against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

In this story:

Vanderbilt Commodores

No. 24 Vanderbilt’s feel-good season took an abrupt turn south Saturday in the Sooner state.

Unranked Oklahoma won 97-67 against the Commodores on its home court after trailing by four points at halftime.

The loss will most likely result in Vanderbilt falling out of the top 25 rankings, but its goal of earning an invitation to the NCAA Tournament in March is still well within reach.

The Commodores were the No. 9 seeded West Region team in the latest version of Joe Lunardi’s Men’s Bracketology: 2025 NCAA Tournament for ESPN. That projection had the Commodores facing Gonzaga in the first round.

Saturday’s 30-point loss to an unranked Sooners team (albeit with a similar record) won’t hurt Vanderbilt too much. That’s thanks mostly to wins against then-No. 6 Tennessee (76-75) and then-No. 9 Kentucky (74-69).

So, don’t expect Vanderbilt to fall too far in the next round of NCAA tournament projections.

For a comparison, Lunardi had Texas (15-7, 4-5 SEC) as the No. 11 seed in the West region and beat LSU on Saturday. The Longhorns have two wins against ranked teams, but the highest ranked was then-No. 13 Texas A&M.

Vanderbilt’s pair of ranked-opponent wins is definitely better than the two Texas has. The Commodores will remain seeded higher than Texas, which also means they won’t fall very far.

And the Commodores, who have plenty of experience with upset wins this school year, will have more chances to improve their NCAA tournament resume. Seven of their next eight games are against ranked opponents, beginning Tuesday at No. 5 Florida.

Vanderbilt On SI

Commodores in the NFL: Oren Burks Poised to Start in Another Super Bowl

2025 Vanderbilt Commodores Football Offseason Tracker: Coming and Going

Vanderbilt Commodores Men’s Basketball Team Playing Themselves Off Tournament Bubble

Published
Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

Home/Basketball