The Vanderbilt Commodores continued their fight for an NCAA tournament at-large bid with a dominant 77-48 victory over Mississippi State.
It was yet another case of the Commodores shooting the lights out. They went 14-of-29 from the three-point line (48%), and there was nothing that the Bulldogs could do about it.
Jeff Roberson scored a career-high 23 points for Vandy, and knocked down five three-pointers in the second half alone. Two other Commodores finished in double-figures, with Riley LaChance scoring 11 and Luke Kornet adding 10.
Mississippi State only managed to shoot 30% from the floor (14-for-47) and had 17 turnovers. It also didn’t score a field goal in the final 4:10 of the game.
Quinndary Weatherspoon led the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points.
Blake’s Analysis:
Let us all enjoy a good laugh courtesy of my predictions for this game:
But first things first. I don’t foresee this being an easy game for Luke Kornet and company, but Vandy should get the win.
Prediction: Vanderbilt 71, Mississippi State 67
That prediction fits in quite well with this season’s trend of never having a clue how Vandy games will play out.
However, the Commodores took what felt like a trap game and turned it into a demolition.
When Vandy shoots the ball as well as it did in this game, it’s tough for opponents to do anything about it. Mississippi State simply had no answer for what the Commodores were doing beyond the arc, as six Vandy players knocked down a triple on the day.
So, what does this win do for Bryce Drew’s team in terms of the NCAA tournament bubble?
Well, it keeps the Commodores in the conversation heading into the final week of the regular season. And after a less than thrilling start to the ’16-17 campaign, that’s an impressive feat.
Without knowing how other bubble teams will fare and how conference tournaments will play out, going 1-1 in the final two would put Vandy in solid shape.
The reasoning for that is simple: one of those two wins would come against either Kentucky or Florida.
People will continue to bring up the fact that no 15-loss team has ever gotten into the NCAA tournament, but there’s no denying this team’s numbers. The Commodores are sitting pretty in the RPI and have played one of the strongest schedules in the country.
If Vandy enters the SEC tournament at 17-14 and grabs one win/avoids a bad loss, I think Drew’s squad is dancing on Selection Sunday.