College basketball rankings: Vanderbilt storms into top 5 as win over Alabama validates streaking Commodores
There's no more questioning the legitimacy of Vanderbilt after moving to 15-0 following the victory over the Tide
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
Vanderbilt was picked 11th in the official SEC preseason poll, right behind Ole Miss, Texas and Mississippi State. At the time, it made sense, I guess. Nobody expected the Commodores to be what they are.
But here's what they are.
"They're the best team in the league right now," said Alabama coach Nate Oats after his team fell to Vandy in Nashville late Wednesday. "League championship's got to come through here."
Final score: Vanderbilt 96, Alabama 90.
So, the Commodores are now 15-0 overall, 2-0 in the SEC. And it's totally reasonable to say, despite where they were picked in the preseason, that, yes, Vanderbilt is the best team in the SEC right now in Year 2 under Mark Byington.
"He's done a really good job," Oats said. "I mean, he's won everywhere he's been."
And without exception this season.
The knock on Vandy all along has been that it had a zero in the loss column, sure, and strong computer numbers, undeniably, but who have the Commodores really beaten? Before Tuesday, they had zero victories over teams ranked in the Top 25 at KenPom.com. So all skeptics pointed to that.
But nobody can point to that anymore.
That's because Vanderbilt just beat Alabama, which owns wins over Illinois, Clemson, St. John's and Kentucky. Nobody questions Alabama as a true Final Four contender. So, at 15-0 and with a win over the Crimson Tide under its belt, nobody should continue to question Vanderbilt as a true Final Four contender -- and once that becomes a reasonable goal, you might as well dream as big as you can dream.
Vanderbilt is up to No. 4 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Michigan remains No. 1 for the 30th consecutive day. The Commodores' jump from No. 12 to No. 4 caused UConn, BYU, Purdue, Gonzaga, Duke, Nebraska, Michigan State and Houston to be pushed down one spot each, no fault of their own. Next up for Vandy is another home game -- Saturday against LSU. The next time the Commodores will play another team currently ranked in the Top 25 And 1 will come Jan. 17 when they host Florida inside Memorial Gym.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
8
Vanderbilt
7
SMU
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | L.J. Cason finished with 14 points and three rebounds in Tuesday's 74-72 win at Penn State. The Wolverines' next game is Saturday against Wisconsin. | -- | 14-0 |
| 2 |  | Brayden Burries finished with 28 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 101-76 win over Kansas State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at TCU. | -- | 15-0 |
| 3 |  | Joshua Jefferson finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds in Wednesday's 70-60 win at Baylor. The Cyclones' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 15-0 |
| 4 | | Tyler Tanner finished with 29 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 96-90 win over Alabama. The Commodores' next game is Saturday at LSU. | 8 | 15-0 |
| 5 |  | Braylon Mullins finished with 24 points and three assists in Wednesday's 103-98 overtime win at Providence. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against DePaul. | 1 | 15-1 |
| 6 |  | Richie Saunders finished with 31 points and eight rebounds in Wednesday's 104-76 win over Arizona State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Utah. | 1 | 14-1 |
| 7 |  | Braden Smith finished with 23 points and seven assists in Wednesday's 81-73 win over Washington. The Boilermakers' next game is Saturday against Penn State. | 1 | 14-1 |
| 8 |  | Graham Ike finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Sunday's 82-47 win over Loyola Marymount. The Zags' next game is Thursday against Santa Clara. | 1 | 16-1 |
| 9 |  | Cameron Boozer finished with 27 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 84-73 win at Louisville. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against SMU. | 1 | 14-1 |
| 10 |  | Braden Frager finished with 15 points and six rebounds in Monday's 72-69 win at Ohio State. The Cornhuskers' next game is Saturday at Indiana. | 1 | 15-0 |
| 11 |  | Coen Carr finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Monday's 80-51 win over USC. The Spartans' next game is Thursday against Northwestern. | 1 | 13-2 |
| 12 |  | Kingston Flemings finished with 23 points and five assists in Tuesday's 69-65 win over Texas Tech. The Cougars' next game is Saturday at Baylor. | 1 | 14-1 |
| 13 |  | Latrell Wrightsell missed eight of the 12 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 96-90 loss at Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide's next game is Saturday against Texas. | -- | 11-4 |
| 14 |  | Darius Acuff finished with 26 points and nine assists in Wednesday's 94-87 win at Ole Miss. The Razorbacks' next game is Saturday at Auburn. | -- | 12-3 |
| 15 |  | Kylan Boswell finished with 18 points and four rebounds in Saturday's 73-65 win at Penn State. The Illini's next game is Thursday against Rutgers. | -- | 11-3 |
| 16 |  | LeJuan Watts missed eight of the nine shots he attempted in Tuesday's 69-65 loss at Houston. The Red Raiders' next game is Saturday at Colorado. | -- | 11-4 |
| 17 |  | Henri Veesaar missed seven of the 11 shots he attempted in Saturday's 97-83 loss at SMU. The Tar Heels' next game is Saturday against Wake Forest. | 2 | 13-2 |
| 18 |  | Darryn Peterson finished with 32 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 104-100 overtime win over TCU. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday at West Virginia. | 2 | 11-4 |
| 19 |  | Ja'Kobi Gillespie finished with 34 points and five assists in Tuesday's 85-71 win over Texas. The Vols' next game is Saturday at Florida. | 2 | 11-4 |
| 20 |  | Thomas Haugh finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds in Tuesday's 92-77 win over Georgia. The Gators' next game is Saturday against Tennessee. | 2 | 10-5 |
| 21 |  | Bennett Stirtz missed 11 of the 17 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 70-67 loss at Minnesota. The Hawkeyes' next game is Sunday against Illinois. | 2 | 12-3 |
| 22 |  | Ryan Conwell missed 11 of the 19 shots he attempted in Tuesday's 84-73 loss to Duke. The Cardinals' next game is Saturday against Boston College. | 2 | 11-4 |
| 23 |  | Malik Thomas finished with 20 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 84-60 win over Cal. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday against Stanford. | 3 | 13-2 |
| 24 |  | RJ Godfrey finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 74-70 win over SMU. The Tigers' next game is Saturday at Notre Dame. | NR | 13-3 |
| 25 |  | Boopie Miller missed 10 of the 15 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 74-70 loss at Clemson. The Mustangs' next game is Saturday at Duke. | 7 | 12-3 |
| 26 |  | Kellen Thomas finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 71-62 win at VCU. The Billikens' next game is Saturday at La Salle. | NR | 14-1 |
