ESPN's Charlie Creme updates women's basketball bracketology twice every week. It was updated this morning, and for the first time, Vanderbilt was left out of the bracket. Obviously, nothing here is set in stone, but I wanted to provide information and what I think needs to happen (although I am no expert).
The Commodores are are 57 in the NET, but with just 68 teams making it in the tournament, there isn't much room for error anymore. Despite the fact that they have now reached 20 wins, and won 3 of their 4 last games, this is the first time they have been left out all season. This is why, in my opinion, they need to win out.
Although one more win gets Vanderbilt to 8-8 in SEC play, neither of the two opponents left on its schedule are going to make the tournament, so a loss to either one of these teams isn't one that people would call a "good" loss.
It faces Missouri and Georgia in for the last two games. Vanderbilt beat Georgia on the road earlier this season, but lost to Missouri at home, which is the worst loss that Vanderbilt has.
Georgia (12-15, 3-11) and Missouri (11-16, 2-12) are at the very bottom of SEC standings, with a combined total of five wins in conference play.
Beating both of those teams gets the Commodores to 22-8 and 9-7 in the SEC. With a record like that, it is going to be a lot harder to leave them out of the big dance. That is also just the regular season record, so Vanderbilt could potentially add to the win column in the SEC Tournament. But by winning out these last two games, there is no way that Vanderbilt can finish with double-digit losses.
If Vanderbilt goes 1-1 in these last 2 games, it sits at 8-8 in conference play. Again, a team at 0.500 would be hard to leave out, but easier than if it won its last two. If the Commodores only won 1 of these last 2 games, I would see the committee wanting them to win a game or two in the SEC Tournament in order to put them in.
Worst case scenario is that Vanderbilt loses to Missouri and Georgia and gets left out of the NCAA Tournament since it has a conference record of 7-9.
Again, this is all speculation, but this is my idea of what I think needs to happen for them to get in the tournament, or what would happen that could cause them to miss out.
The Commodores are are 57 in the NET, but with just 68 teams making it in the tournament, there isn't much room for error anymore. Despite the fact that they have now reached 20 wins, and won 3 of their 4 last games, this is the first time they have been left out all season. This is why, in my opinion, they need to win out.
Although one more win gets Vanderbilt to 8-8 in SEC play, neither of the two opponents left on its schedule are going to make the tournament, so a loss to either one of these teams isn't one that people would call a "good" loss.
It faces Missouri and Georgia in for the last two games. Vanderbilt beat Georgia on the road earlier this season, but lost to Missouri at home, which is the worst loss that Vanderbilt has.
Georgia (12-15, 3-11) and Missouri (11-16, 2-12) are at the very bottom of SEC standings, with a combined total of five wins in conference play.
Beating both of those teams gets the Commodores to 22-8 and 9-7 in the SEC. With a record like that, it is going to be a lot harder to leave them out of the big dance. That is also just the regular season record, so Vanderbilt could potentially add to the win column in the SEC Tournament. But by winning out these last two games, there is no way that Vanderbilt can finish with double-digit losses.
If Vanderbilt goes 1-1 in these last 2 games, it sits at 8-8 in conference play. Again, a team at 0.500 would be hard to leave out, but easier than if it won its last two. If the Commodores only won 1 of these last 2 games, I would see the committee wanting them to win a game or two in the SEC Tournament in order to put them in.
Worst case scenario is that Vanderbilt loses to Missouri and Georgia and gets left out of the NCAA Tournament since it has a conference record of 7-9.
Again, this is all speculation, but this is my idea of what I think needs to happen for them to get in the tournament, or what would happen that could cause them to miss out.
