March Madness Bubble Team: Vanderbilt

The Vanderbilt Commodores don’t have the most impressive record, as they sit at 15-13. The Commodores do have something that a number of other bubble teams don’t have, four wins over top 50 teams. Those four wins came over teams almost assured a tournament spot: Arkansas, Iowa State, Florida and South Carolina). Wednesday’s victory over Tennessee was a big one on the road and keeps them in the hunt

There’s little margin for error from the Commodores, who have to take care of business against Mississippi State on Saturday, as they finish with Kentucky and Florida. A victory over either team would most assuredly put them in, while two losses may not be enough to knock them out, depending on what they do in the SEC tournament.

Vanderbilt has played one of the toughest schedules in the country and have the wins to be in the discussion, even though it’s a bit of a long shot right now. But as other bubble teams continue to play their way out of contention, the Commodores are doing enough things right to keep in the conversation.

Vanderbilt would be in better shape if they were able to win all of the games that it should. The Commodores are 6-5 straight-up as a favorite, but are 7-8 straight-up as a dog.

Vanderbilt can play tough defense, holding their past seven opponents to under 43% shooting. They’ll need their best effort to close out the regular season, but they defeated Florida the first meeting and lost to Kentucky by six. The Commodores score less on the road than at home, but also holds opponents to fewer points. A 5-5 road record has helped them climb into tournament consideration.

Vanderbilt is definitely a longshot right now, but they are a team that can’t be discounted. One big win could very well see them sneak into the tournament.