With their 100-56 win over New Orleans, the Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball Team put a bow on what was a very successful run of non-conference play. The new-look Commodores under Mark Byington went 12-1, with their only loss being to the still undefeated Drake Bulldogs. The ‘Dores did just about everything they could in non-conference play to answer the question at the forefront of every Vanderbilt fan’s mind: “can a team that just went 9-23 be turned around in one offseason?” Four P4 wins, two Q2 wins, a myriad of blowouts in buy games, and a runner-up performance in the Charleston classic later, the answer, conclusively, is yes. However, there are a plethora of unknowns and questions still surrounding this team, namely, do they have what it takes to make the NCAA tournament in an unprecedentedly strong SEC?

First, let’s start off with the positive things that we learned about this team. Arguably the biggest and most important takeaway is that Mark Byington can really coach. Not only has completely revamped the roster, but he completely changed the way that Vanderbilt plays. Gone are the days of holding the ball until the shot clock hits 10 and then running a set play. Instead there is a free-flowing and fast paced offense that is extremely fun to watch. One of the most telling stats about how well coached this team is was the fact that they held the number one turnover ratio in the country up until their game against Austin Peay. A well coached team knows how their teammates will play, how to take care of the ball, and how to win. This group has proven they know how to do all those things. To be able to get an entirely new group of players to mesh this well early on is an incredible feat, and one that should be lauded.

The next question that has been answered is whether Vanderbilt will have a reliable star. Coming into the season, one of the more common refrains about this team's weaknesses was that there is no go-to guy who can get you a bucket when you need it most. Jason Edwards is that guy. He is currently averaging the third most points in the SEC at 18.8 points per game on ridiculously good efficiency. To shoot 48% from the field, 39% from three, and 86% from the free throw line in your first season of power-conference play is ridiculous, especially considering how small he is. Edwards will be a key factor as Vanderbilt enters the gauntlet that is SEC play. As SEC defenses key in on him and try to force others to take shots and score, his distribution will also come into play. While not a consistent playmaker for others, Edwards has flashed the ability to drive and kick and make good plays off of the pick and roll/pick and pop situations. If he can take that next step as a distributor, Vanderbilt will be extremely difficult to stop no matter who they’re playing.

Finally, the defense is much stronger than was initially expected. While there is still a clear lack of a true rim protector, Vanderbilt’s guards and wings have proved themselves to be capable, willing, and highly disruptive defenders. Highlighted by Grant Huffman and Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt has been hanging their hat on aggressive perimeter defense, a strategy that has been extremely successful so far. The ‘Dores are averaging 10.8 steals per game, the most in the SEC, and have been dominating their opposition on points generated off of turnovers. Vandy will have to continue to be disruptive with their defense and capitalize off of turnovers generated in SEC play if they hope to continue the success they have had. Once they start playing teams with more skilled wings and true centers their lack of size will hurt them in ways it has not throughout non-conference play.

Now onto the concerns that have either come up or are still lingering. The first is that the shooting has not been as strong as it has to be in order to have sustained success in the SEC. A perceived strength of the team coming into the year, the three point shooting for Vanderbilt has been extremely streaky and unsatisfactory overall. Vanderbilt is only shooting 33% from deep as a team, a mark that puts them in the bottom 4 shooting teams in the SEC despite them taking the 6th most threes in the conference. There is evidence that the team has the necessary skill to improve this, though. They have had several performances (including the most recent game against New Orleans) where they will shoot well over 40% from three and just run opposing teams out of the gym. While that is not a reasonable standard to hold the team to, the ‘Dores have to be more consistent. Given their relative lack of size, this team cannot afford to have poor shooting nights in conference play or they will have real trouble finding a way to win.

A surprise to most Vanderbilt fans has been the inconsistent play of both Jaylen Carey and AJ Hoggard. Given Hoggard’s reportedly lucrative NIL deal and the staff’s raving about Carey throughout the offseason, many entered the season with high hopes for this duo. While both have certainly flashed the skill that earned them these things, their play has been far too inconsistent overall. Hoggard will go from looking like an all-sec talent one night to being the 4th option and only scoring a few points the next. Carey, despite being a big bodied bruiser down low, has the habit of missing some relatively easy layups or giving up turnovers far too easily. The good news here is that once again these issues seem as if they can be fixed. For Hoggard it seems to be more mental than any physical limitation, as he gets more comfortable in this team he may round into form. Carey has also had several strong performances of late with far fewer plays that leave you wondering how Vandy does not have 2 more points on the board. Mark Byington will need his strong play to continue.

Very few Commodore fans had concrete expectations about reaching the NCAA tournament in the first year of Byington’s tenure at Vanderbilt. However, this team has played well enough through the noncon that they are solidly on the bubble (Vanderbilt was the last team in on ESPN’s latest Bracketology). While nobody knows exactly what will be needed to secure a place in the tournament, the SEC really is unprecedentedly good, we can look at the NET and at-large bids from the last few years to give us some good information.

For once, Vanderbilt won’t be fighting the NET and have positioned themselves strongly with blowout wins against almost all Q3 and Q4 opponents they have faced and two solid wins against Q2 opponents. Vanderbilt is 31 in the NET, a mark that is more than good enough for an at-large bid. The SEC is extremely strong, with only 2 teams being below 50 in the NET (LSU and South Carolina), meaning that losing most games will not punish teams severely but winning games will translate to Q1 wins. What this likely means is that Vanderbilt does not even have to go .500 in SEC play in order to make the tournament. In the last two years Mississippi State got an at-large bid with an 8-10 record in conference play thanks to a strong NET ranking and a few marquee wins. If Vanderbilt can pull off an upset or two against a Kentucky, Tennessee, or Auburn and avoid blowouts or disappointing losses against either SC or LSU, then they too will probably only need an 8-10 record (maybe even 7-11 if the committee deems the SEC strong enough) to reach the tournament.

Ultimately, non-conference play has gone about as well as any Vanderbilt fan, coach, or player could have hoped for and the ‘Dores have positioned themselves strongly for the rest of this season. The SEC is stronger than it has ever been and the quality of basketball fans will be able to see in Memorial will be just about the highest of anywhere in the country. This is gonna be a fun ride.