Vanderbilt Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for Commodores

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - MARCH 16: The Vanderbilt Commodores band performs in the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 16, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Gene Sweeney Jr./Getty Images) /

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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – SEPTEMBER 2: NBA basketball player Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks addresses a press conference on September 2, Seoul in South Korea. NBA Basketball players Jerry Stackhouse and Jay Williams will appear at the 2004 adidas Streetball Challenge Asian final in Seoul. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images) /

The schedule and expectations for Vandy

Vanderbilt will certainly ease into the Stackhouse era with a myriad of home games against mid-major opponents from the Ohio Valley, MEAC, and Southland conferences before Thanksgiving with their lone road game coming at Richmond on Nov. 14. December will be a much tougher month for the ‘Dores with home games against Buffalo, Liberty, Davidson, and UNC-Wilmington while taking on Loyola-Chicago as a part of the Hall of Fame Showcase in Phoenix.

The team’s final non-conference game will be at home just after the New Year as they host SMU. The schedule isn’t the toughest, but the games against Liberty, Davidson, and Loyola-Chicago will give people a good indication of how improved the team may be.

While wins and losses are important for everyone, I think a lot of Vandy fans would be satisfied with a more competitive team that shows clear player development when compared to last season. The Commodores are ranked 14th in our preseason SEC power rankings, and I think the biggest question for this team heading into this season to me is whether or not some of the freshmen and players who struggled under the previous coach can excel.

Next. Ranking SEC head coaches for 2019-20. dark

If they can, Vanderbilt should be heading in the right direction, but if not, another tough season could be in the cards as Stackhouse gets his feet wet and puts his stamp on the program.

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