14. Vanderbilt (5-10, 0-2)
The Commodores have not sniffed the NCAA Tournament since 2017. It’s been a rough ride in the SEC for Vanderbilt in recent years. Last season was a big step forward, with 22 wins and their first finish above .500 in conference play since that last Tourney trip, but Jerry Stackhouse’s program looks pretty broken once more this year.
Losing their opener at home to Presbyterian was a harbinger of things to come. The Commodores lost all four games they played in nonconference against power conference foes, with their only even decent win this season coming over UNC Greensboro nearly two months ago. They’ve had some close calls, nearly upsetting Memphis on the road and Alabama at home, but close calls aren’t good enough.
We could talk about Ezra Manjon’s solid play or some of the other players on Stackhouse’s roster but it’s clear that whatever this is, it’s not enough. They’ve shoot poorly, defended badly, and certainly not done enough to contend for anything this season. Vanderbilt should finish in last place in the SEC, leaving plenty of question marks about the future of this program. There really isn’t much more to stay right now; though perhaps this team could surprise us.