Vanderbilt, the No. 5 seed in the South Region, aims for its first NCAA Tournament win since 2012 when it faces 12th-seeded McNeese State in Oklahoma City on Thursday afternoon.
The Commodores (26-8) nearly replicated the path of the 2012 team, which stunned powerhouse Kentucky to clinch the school’s last Southeastern Conference tournament title. Arkansas pulled away in the final minutes of the title game to win 86-75.
Vanderbilt’s best two players, guards Tyler Tanner (19.1 points, 5.1 assists, 2.4 steals per game) and Duke Miles (16.5 points, 4.5 assists, 2.7 steals), were brilliant in the three-game tournament run as the Commodores knocked off ranked Tennessee and Florida squads.
The Commodores felt they’d earned better than what they received from the NCAA Tournament selection committee. But coach Mark Byington downplayed the angle as Vanderbilt kept its focus on what’s ahead.
“One of the things I told the guys earlier, I was like, ‘whatever number they put beside us, ignore it,'” Byington said. “It does not make a difference. We are playing a good team.”
The Cowboys (28-5) were the 12-team Southland Conference’s second-place finisher in the regular season. McNeese got the league’s automatic bid by defeating UT Rio Grande Valley 84-80 in triple overtime, then winning 76-59 over regular-season champion Stephen F. Austin.
Bill Armstrong became the first coach in Southland history to take his team to the NCAA Tournament in his first Division I season. He took over for Will Wade, who led McNeese to consecutive berths before leaving for NC State.
“We haven’t lost a game that wasn’t on someone else’s home court this year,” Armstrong said. “We’re 19-0 now when we’re not on someone else’s home court. This group’s been able to find a way to win games in different ways all year long.”
The Cowboys are paced by a formidable backcourt trio — Southland Freshman of the Year Larry Johnson (17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals per game), fellow first-team all-league pick Tyshawn Archie (14.3 points, 2.9 assists, 1.7 steals) and last year’s Southland Player of the Year Javohn Garcia (12.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals).
McNeese ranks first in the country in forcing turnovers (24.1% of possessions, per KenPom), points off turnovers (27.7%) and fourth in block rate (15.8%).
Getting the ball away from Vanderbilt hasn’t been easy this season. They are 11th nationally with a 13.3% turnover rate and top 20 in avoiding blocked shots (7.1%, 18th).
Vanderbilt also ranks fourth nationally in free-throw percentage (79.3%) while opponents scored 23.9% of their points at the line, 24th nationally per KenPom.
Vandy’s Tyler Nickel (13.5 points per game) snapped a long shooting slump by hitting 5 of 7 from distance against Arkansas.
Other key Commodores include bigs Devin McGlockton (9.6 points, 6.7 rebounds per game) and Jalen Washington (9.1, 5.7), both of whom struggled with foul trouble.
The Cowboys aren’t particularly big, and they shoot only 31.6 percent from 3-point range. But they’re athletic — seven players had at least 25 steals and six blocked at least 10 shots — and love to press. Their best interior player is 6-foot-10 Jerrell Colbert (5.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.2 blocks per game), who previously played at LSU, Kansas State and SMU.
