The Vanderbilt Commodores are enjoying one of the best seasons in recent memory under first-year coach Mark Byington. But can Vandy parlay that into the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017?
For now, the odds appear against the Commodores across Tennessee sports betting. However, the good news is, Byington’s team will have several opportunities to make their case thanks to playing in the nation’s toughest conference.
With Selection Sunday just two months away, BetTennessee is watching Vandy’s hoops team and the likelihood they make March Madness. These are not odds you will find at licensed Tennessee sports betting operators, like Fanatics Tennessee Sportsbook.
| Percentage Chance | Odds | |
| Yes | 34.5% | +190 |
| No | 65.5% | -190 |
Following Wednesday evening’s win over South Carolina, Vanderbilt is 14-3, but the Dores have dropped two games in Southeastern Conference play.
The team’s 12-1 start was the best in school history for a team with a first-year coach, and it’s only the fourth time in the last 40 years that the Commodores have finished nonconference play with one or fewer losses.
However, the potential knock on Vandy right now is who the Commodores have played. Kenpom.com ranks the team’s strength of schedule as the 238th toughest in Division I. That’s a big reason why Kenpom has Vanderbilt ranked at No. 54. Among the 16 teams in the SEC, only two – LSU, which Vandy beat on Jan. 4, and South Carolina – are ranked below Byington’s team.
There’s two ways to look at where Vandy stands right now. The pessimist could look at 13 SEC teams being ranked above the Commodores as being a hill too steep to climb. The optimist, though, sees the team having several opportunities over the next two months to state its case for an NCAA Tournament bid by beating some of the toughest teams in the nation.
Vandy has 14 SEC regular-season games left. A whopping 10 of those are against teams currently ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. That includes two games apiece versus Kentucky and Tennessee and a home game on March 11 against Auburn, the team currently ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Vandy definitely doesn’t need to run the table by any stretch to get consideration for an at-large bid. For what it’s worth, BetMGM Tennessee gives Vanderbilt +25000 odds to win the conference regular season title.
The Commodores probably need to finish SEC play with a .500 or better record in conference to be seriously considered.
That’s certainly a possibility, and as of Wednesday morning, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi posted on X that the Commodores are currently among the first four teams out of the tournament. With two months left, Byington and his players have ample time to get on the right side of the bubble.
Currently, FanDuel Tennessee Sportsbook gives the Commodores odds of +135 to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
USA Today photo by Steve Roberts.
Currently Vanderbilt have a 34.5% chance to make the NCAA March Madness Tournament in 2025. Their odds are set at +190.
The Vanderbilt mens basketball team last made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 under Head Coach Bryce Drew. The last two seasons the Commodores finished their season in the NIT Quarterfinals.
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Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
