Where Vanderbilt Basketball Sits in the Media Mock Bracket: The Anchor
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Various college basketball media members got together Thursday for a day-long event of creating a mock NCAA Tournament bracket. After long deliberation, the media members put out what they felt the 68-team bracket should look like if the season ended today.
In the bracket, Vanderbilt was ranked as a No. 5 seed taking on No. 12 seed Liberty in the first round. The mock bracket also has Vandebilt going to Greenville, South Carolina. If Vanderbilt were to win its first game in the mock bracket, it would face No. 4 seed Michigan State or No. 13 seed UNC Wilmington.
It is important to note that this bracket was made after Vanderbilt lost to Missouri on the road Wednesday night. A No. 5 seed for Vanderbilt is not a stunning result to see the Commodores being perceived as, especially coming off a loss. The Commodores certainly have the capabilities of playing like a team that is better than a team on that line. However, it is understandable that Vanderbilt was bumped from the 4-seed line to the 5-seed line following its fifth conference loss.
But the perception of Vanderbilt is also intriguing to see. If the actual selection committee perceives Vanderbilt in a similar light that the media did, then it shows Vanderbilt needs to put another strong win or two on its resume to jump to the 4-seed line.
Vanderbilt will have plenty of chances to do that, too. The Commodores finish the season with two matchups against Tennessee, with the first one being today at 1 p.m. CT. Vanderbilt also finishes the regular season with Georgia at home on Feb. 25 and Kentucky and Ole Miss on the road Feb. 28 and March 3.
Countdown to Vanderbilt’s 2026 Football Season Opener
196 days
The Anchor: Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026
- Vanderbilt volleyball head coach Anders Nelson hired Felicia Turner as his offensive coordinator. Turner has been the head coach for UNC Greensboro for the past three seasons.
- Vanderbilt women’s tennis won both of its doubleheader games against Xavier and Lipscomb. The Commodores took down Xavier 6-1 before beating Lipscomb.
- Vanderbilt bowling won three out of five games against Jacksonville State on the first day of the Big Red Invitational.
Friday's Commodores Results
Vanderbilt women’s tennis beat Xavier 6-1.
Vanderbilt baseball beat Marist 16-5.
Vanderbilt women’s tennis beat Lipscomb 7-0.
Saturday's Commodores Schedule
No. 19 Vanderbilt men’s basketball vs. Tennessee, 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Vanderbilt men’s tennis at Mississippi State, 1 p.m. CT.
Vanderbilt baseball vs. Marist (Game 2), 2 p.m. CT on SEC Network+.
Vanderbilt swimming at the SEC Championships, Day 4.
Vanderbilt bowling at the Big Red Invitational, Day 2.
Commodores Quote of The Day
“Next year’s team will be a different team than last year. It will have its own personality. It is like children; they are each different.”Tim Corbin
We’ll Leave You With This…
There is no one like no. 1 🤷♀️@mikaylablakes pic.twitter.com/S33Gt2FXXy
— Vanderbilt WBB (@VandyWBB) February 20, 2026
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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.
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