Vanderbilt Basketball

The door is wide open for Vanderbilt to shock the college basketball establishment and run to the Final Four. If they manage only two wins in the SEC Tournament, they will do just that. 

Taking a look at Joe Lunardi's Bracketology on ESPN, you'll see that the Commodores are currently projected as the East's No. 6 team. By making a run to the finals in the SEC Tournament, Vandy would at least hold that spot.

With that seed in that bracket, Vanderbilt would have three things working in their favor, in a big way. The combination will set them up well for a Final Four run.

Favorable Bracket

If Lunardi's projections hold, take a look at the five teams that would be ahead of the Commodores. 

1. Syracuse

2. Duke

3. Michigan

4. Witchita St.

5. Temple

The reality is that no great college teams exist anymore. Kentucky is extremely talented and in two or three years would be a great team, but they're a group of freshmen. While they are very talented, freshmen tend to be vulnerable to an upset against more experienced teams. 

But even if you were to say that Kentucky and possibly North Carolina are well ahead of Vanderbilt. Neither one of them are in the bracket. The Big East has not had a great year this season, so take Syracuse's record with a grain of salt. Duke relies too much on outside shooting, and the other teams don't exactly strike fear into anyone. 

This is especially true when "anyone" is a veteran team. While we're on that note, let's take a look at the second reason that Vanderbilt is a Final Four favorite. 

Veteran Players

Let's take a quick look at Vanderbilt's top five scorers.

Player	Yr.
John Jenkins	Jr.
Jeffery Taylor	Sr.
Festus Ezeli	Sr.
Lance Goulbourne	Sr.
Brad Tinsley	Sr.

Four seniors and one junior. This group has been around for a long time. Playing together for this length of time is a definite advantage over teams that are reliant on freshmen and the occasional sophomore. 

This group will be ready to go when the tournament rolls around and won't shrink from the situation. 

Nice Schedule

Staying in the East as the No. 6 seed would allow Vandy to stay in state. That isn't a huge deal for the players, but it is a nice way to bring home fans in. 

Every now and again, teams come out flat in the first couple of games, especially in a game they should win. Playing in front of home fans offsets that. 

Vanderbilt has a road to the finals perfectly paved for them, but they can't fall victim to a bad upset in the SEC. If they get on a role and make the finals (even with a loss to Kentucky), they will at least hold their spot and be completely set to go on a long tournament run.

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Any time John Jenkins steps on the court he is arguably the best scorer and a true game changer. His partner Jeffery Taylor makes for a one-two punch that can take out any team in the SEC tournament, including the mighty Kentucky. 

The Vanderbilt Commodores have a real shot at winning this year's SEC tournament if Jenkins and Taylor can be consistent and score enough points to carry their team past Kentucky and Tennessee. March Madness is all about star power and a team riding a hot streak. This time of year is not always about the best team, just the one who puts it all together at the right time.

John Jenkins is streaky. His last game he only went five for 15 from the field and three for 10 from behind the arc in a loss to Tennessee. The game before that he lit up Florida for 22 points including six for nine from three. One constant in his game is his free-throw shooting. He is 85 percent from the charity stripe and that is a crucial asset in the postseason. 

In order for Vanderbilt to beat Kentucky they would need Jenkins to have a good shooting game, which he is fully capable of. The last time the two teams met, Kentucky won 83-74 and Jenkins only went six for 18 from the field with 18 points. The meeting before that Kentucky won by six with Jenkins shooting only five for 14 with 15 points. He is the X-factor. A hot John Jenkins could eliminate Kentucky tournament format. 

While Jenkins is the key, he is going to need some help. Jeffery Taylor has to continue to take pressure off of Jenkins by being the consistent second scorer on the team. His ability to rebound and stretch the floor has given Kentucky fits all season. The last meeting he shot the ball well and had 19 points to go with nine rebounds. The matchup before that was a 13 point nine rebound effort.

It's safe to say if he scores around 16 points and continues the strong rebounding, the Commodores will keep the game close enough for Jenkins to take over down the stretch and win. 

Size and strength down low are key as well. Senior center Festus Ezeli has to be able to battle with Anthony Davis and other bigs around the SEC. Standing at 6'11'' 255 lbs he has to be able to provide the muscle down low necessary for tournament play.

His rebounding numbers for the season are lower than where you would want a player of his size to be at. He has to be better in that department, but he has the ability to do so. He started the season slow due to a suspension and subsequent injury, but seems to be in shape and hitting his stride at the right time.  

For a couple of seasons the Commodores have been a postseason disappointment. Last season they lost to Florida in the semifinals and went on to an upset loss in the NCAA tournament in the second round to the Richmond Spiders. This team is better than the one last year and can make a long run in both tournaments.

To call a Vanderbilt a wild card is something they should be accustomed to. After returning all five starters this season, they were picked by many to be a top 10 team going into the season. The suspension to Ezeli and losses to Cleveland State and Indiana State have caused some to take them off the national radar.

The talent is there. The team has enough firepower to score with anybody in the country. Returning all five starters provides experience most teams would dream of. John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor and Festus Ezeli are all potential first-round draft picks in the NBA draft. A wild card is not the team you expect to make noise, but the one you always have to look over your shoulder to worry about.

Come Championship Week, there will be plenty of teams in the SEC wishing they did not have to play the Vanderbilt Commodores down in New Orleans. 

On senior night at Memorial Gym, the Vanderbilt Commodores handed the No.16 Florida Gators their eighth loss of the season and earned a much-needed resume-building win.

The Commodores are 2-6 against top 25 teams this season, a struggling record which can possibly hurt Vandy on Selection Sunday.

The only other ranked opponent Vanderbilt has beaten this season is No.13 Marquette, which occurred all the way back on December 29, 2011.

The seniors stepped up for Vanderbilt on Tuesday night, but the real star of the game was junior John Jenkins, who didn't miss a shot in the first half.

Jenkins, the SEC top scorer all season, scored 22 points and was 6-9 from beyond the arc.

Taylor provided 18 points, including a couple of big threes down the stretch.

The game was largely in Vanderbilt's hands for most of the game, but in the middle of the second half, the Dores got cold from the field and the 12-point lead was lost.

When Florida's Bradley Beal drained a three to cut the deficit to one with just under six minutes to play, Taylor came back in transition and sank a deep three to keep the momentum in Vandy's favor. They never looked back.

Vanderbilt executed offensively and reached the charity stripe 26 times (making 19 of 26, 73.1 percent) and finished the game with nine straight free throws made.

The Dores ability to attack the basket and make free throws will prove to be a great quality come tournament time.

Billy Donovan had no problem pressing the Dores all game, and, as a result, Vandy freshman guard Kendren Johnson played 26 minutes (double his average) of helping break the press.

It's nice to see Kevin Stallings give the young guys playing time in preparation for the tournament play. Rod Odom, Kendren Johnson and Dai-Jon Parker are key bench players who all have potential to produce.

Vanderbilt protected the ball pretty well and turned it over 11 times compared to earlier this season in Gainesville when they struggled with their press, turned the ball over 17 times and lost 73-65.

The Commodores, who are right outside the top 25, travel to in-state rival Tennessee on Saturday to wrap up the regular season. 

A win on senior night for the Vanderbilt Commodores over the No.13 Florida Gators gave the NCAA Tournament selection committee something to chew on when Selection Sunday arrives.

The overall record for the Commodores still isn't very eye-catching, but when you dive deeper into their tournament resume, you realize how dangerous this team really is.

Their strength-of-schedule is ranked No.5 in the nation, with their overall RPI in the top 20.

The Commodores also have five wins over RPI top-50 teams, which is a very important component measured by the selection committee.

Finally, six true road wins is nothing to be ashamed of.

You roll all that up and you get a mid-level seed, which usually means a tough mid-major in the opening round.

With their spot in the NCAA Tournament already clinched, the Commodores are now trying to avoid yet another early exit to a strong mid-major.

How appropriate that this season has a ton of dangerous mid-majors.

Even though this team seems to be one of the better teams head coach Kevin Stallings has ever had while at Vanderbilt, it's still critical that the Commodores avoid that six to seven seed that would pair them up with a team similar to the Cleveland State team that upset them at Memorial Gym in November.

The Commodores were widely projected as a six-seed before their double-digit win over Florida, so now a four-seed is not completely out of reach.

There's still a little bit of business to take care of for the Commodores, but it won't be easy as they'll have to figure out a way to beat a Tennessee team that is very streaky.

Despite Tennessee's record, a win over them at Thompson-Boling Arena would really put the Commodores in a good spot at getting at least a five-seed.

It really makes you wonder how high the Commodores could have elevated if Festus Ezeli would have been at their disposal all season.

Even when Ezeli returned for the Davidson game, he still was nowhere near 100 percent.

However, the Commodores still have a lot to prove before we can put them back at the top-10 level they started at in the preseason rankings.

First, Jeffery Taylor has been wildly inconsistent this season. He has seemed to play a disappearing act in many big moments this season, much like LeBron James is criticized for.

That wasn't the case in their win over Florida, and the final score was a result of that.

As long as Taylor remains aggressive, his athleticism will get him his points in the box score. It's really that simple, and that's why NBA scouts are taking a hard look at him.

Another thing that has to be fixed if the Commodores are going to win a couple games in the NCAA Tournament is their bench, or lack thereof.

Outside of the starting five, no one on this team is averaging more than four points per game.

That is a serious problem that Stallings has tried to address through baptism by fire. Guys like Kedren Johnson and Dai-Jon Parker have gotten a ton of minutes this season, but with very little improvement.

Johnson had numerous mistakes that almost gave Florida the game, and Parker was passing the ball around like it was a game of hot potato.

This team has to have a bench that they can rely on when key starters need a break, otherwise the good teams in March will rip this team apart.

If those two issues are cleared up before the SEC Tournament, then there's no reason why the Commodores can't shock the country with their first SEC title since 1951.

There's no denying that Kentucky is the best team in the country, but it's difficult to beat any team three times in one month.

That's what the Wildcats would have to do if they face the Commodores in the SEC Tournament. 

The Commodores are in a very good spot right now, but seeding is still very important if they want to avoid that dangerous mid-major in the opening round.

All signs point to the Vanderbilt Commodores making their third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance this season and 13th in school history.

As impressive as that may be, there's still a collective belief that the Commodores will choke once again in their opening game of the NCAA Tournament.

The Commodores have been unable to get past their first opponent in the NCAA Tournament since their Sweet Sixteen run in 2007, with Richmond being the latest mid-major to upset the Commodores.

This season has a large group of mid-majors that are capable of making noise in this year's NCAA Tournament, and it's very likely that a rematch with Murray State could be on its way.

Murray State upset the Commodores on a last-second shot in 2010, and this season the Racers are gaining much more national attention as they have just one loss in 27 games.

The real question is whether or not the Commodores are ready to shed the reputation of being a team that flourishes in the regular season but crumbles to the first opponent they face in the postseason.

Players like Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins are ready to shed that image for the Commodores. The team has actually done a good job defeating some solid mid-majors this season.

It's very likely that the Commodores will face a very tough mid-major yet again this season in their first NCAA Tournament matchup.

Sure enough, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has the Commodores facing Harvard as a No. 7 seed in the Louisville region.

Lunardi is usually spot-on with his predictions, and Harvard would definitely present the Commodores with a decent opportunity at shedding the image of being a one-and-done team in the NCAA Tournament.

They went into Davidson and beat them on their home court back in December and did it in convincing fashion.

Mid-majors like Bucknell and Middle Tennessee State have fallen to the Commodores this season, but both Indiana State and Cleveland State took the Commodores down in Nashville.

It would seem that it's very likely that the Commodores could end up suffering another early letdown in the NCAA Tournament, but something is different about this team.

If the Commodores are going to get over the hump, regardless of who they face, they're going to have to have Taylor live up to the hype.

Last season against Richmond, Taylor had just four points and one field goal, and still the Commodores just lost by three points.

Just two seasons ago, the Commodores lost on a buzzer-beater to Murray State, and yet again Taylor was a non-factor despite averaging over 13 points per game as a sophomore.

Jenkins is also very important in whether or not the Commodores can end this losing streak to mid-majors, but Jenkins always seems to play well on any given night. The problem is that far too many times it hasn't guaranteed a win.

In all but one of Vanderbilt's losses, Jenkins has scored at least 15 points. He's also drained at least three three-pointers in six of Vanderbilt's eight losses.

The moral to this story is that Taylor is the x-factor for how far the Commodores can go.

Taylor is talented enough to take the Commodores well past that opening matchup with a possible mid-major if he remains aggressive.

Kentucky 69, Vanderbilt 63 

The house was shaking in Memorial Gym for the prime time Saturday night game, but the home team did not prevail in this one.

Vanderbilt (17-8, 6-4) had a late surge in the second half but No. 1 Kentucky (25-1, 11-0) was too strong for the Commodores.

Vandy trailed by as much as 14 points in the first half and fell too far behind to climb back and win.

Kentucky's defense was impenetrable. Despite Vandy having the lead late in the game, the Dores had offensive struggles all night and came up short of storming the court.

Vanderbilt Dug Themselves Too Big of a Hole

The Vanderbilt Commodores shot a horrific 27.5 percent from the field in the first half, which ultimately led to their defeat. Festus Ezeli was 2-of-7 in the first half with four points, and Taylor only had one bucket in the first.

Kentucky shot an outstanding 53.3 percent and outscored Vandy 36-23 in the first half, creating a nearly impossible climb for the Dores to come back and win. 

Although VU was up by two with four minutes left to play, Kentucky's lead was too large and it shot the ball too far down the stretch for Vandy. The Dores went cold and failed to hit a field goal in the final four minutes of the game, which ended their comeback rally.

Kentucky's Shot-Blocking Ability is Best in NCAA

Anthony Davis' long wingspan and total body control landed him seven blocks against Vanderbilt, and only picked up three fouls.

As a team, Kentucky totaled 12 blocks in the contest, totally took away the lane for any of Vandy's guards and made it extremely hard for Festus to do work.

Jenkins and Tinsley found some penetration through the lane, but it ended quickly when the towering big men of UK were there to block their shots.

Also, Davis and Jones' ability to collapse on Ezeli made it extremely hard for Vanderbilt to get any post-play rhythm going.

Kentucky's Perimeter D: Shut Down Jenkins and Shut Down Vandy's Offense

The top scorer in the SEC, John Jenkins, was held to 3-of-9 from three point range and only had five second half points in the loss to No. 1 Kentucky.

The Wildcats' perimeter defense is possibly the best in the NCAA with their speedy guards heckling the outside shooters. With huge defenders in the paint in Davis and Jones paired with the pressuring outside defenders in Lamb and Teague, UK can defend any team.

As a team, Vanderbilt only shot 36.5 percent from the field and was never able to get into their rhythm of outside shooting. 

Although Brad Tinsley heated up late in the second half and created a surge for the Dores, the final four minutes scoring drought ended the late comeback attempt.

Nashville is home to Vanderbilt University and one of the toughest college basketball venues in the nation, Memorial Gym.

The Vanderbilt Commodores (17-7, 6-3) have beaten the past four No.1 teams to come through their den, most recently against top-ranked Florida in 2007.

The No.1 Kentucky Wildcats (24-1, 10-0) have only lost one game this entire season, are on a 16-game winning streak and are a perfect 10-0 in the SEC.

Although Vanderbilt is not ranked this week, their current position and record are not accurate representations of how good this team actually is.

VU's John Jenkins and Jeffrey Taylor are the number one and two scorers, respectively, in the Southeastern Conference, and are extremely dangerous from beyond the arc.

However, Kentucky's young guns, led by Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, have been the top freshmen in all of college basketball.

UK has had a tough time recently at Memorial, as VU has beaten Kentucky at home five out of the past six times, and in the one loss, only fell by two points.

Key Matchups

Festus Ezeli vs. Anthony Davis

The battle down low on both ends of the floor is going to play a major factor in the outcome of this game. Although Ezeli is two inches taller and 35 pounds larger, both have extreme blocking potential and rebounding ability.

The Dores need to quickly get the ball down on the block and allow Ezeli to power through and get Davis into foul trouble.  If Davis can rack up some early fouls, Vanderbilt will have a major advantage at home.

The offensive battle will be crucial between these two, as Davis averages 14 points-per-game to Ezeli's 10 points-per-game.

Ezeli has been playing well as of late and is coming off a 21 point performance against LSU on Thursday.

Vanderbilt's Guards vs. Kentucky's Perimeter Defense 

John Jenkins is the most dangerous three-point shooter in the nation with 89, the most in the NCAA. If Doron Lamb and Marquis Teague apply pressure on Jenkins and contest on threes, Vandy will have trouble offensively. 

However, if the ball movement flows and Brad Tinsley doesn't turn the ball over too much, Jenkins and Taylor should get some open space to knock down threes. Ezeli's paint success will open up the deep shots even more.

Also, Jeffrey Taylor's ability to penetrate will open up the drive-and-kick for Jenkins' three-point shot.

Kentucky vs. Memorial Gym

Vanderbilt's home court is raised off the floor of the gym, creating almost a stage in the middle where the game is played. Also, with the team benches on the endzones and loud students going crazy, it's going to be very tough for John Calipari to communicate to his young squad.

Kentucky's only loss of the season was in a similar atmosphere at Indiana University's Assembly Hall. How can UK handle the primetime pressure in a hostile environment?

A major supporting role for Vanderbilt is Lance Goulbourne, who is playing with confidence and is powerfully rebounding the ball. Also, he provides strong defense, which will be a major factor against this quick Kentucky team.

Look for the house to be rockin' in this 9 p.m. EST tip-off on ESPN.

It would've been easy to write off the Vanderbilt Commodores back in December when the team was 6-4 with losses to Cleveland State and Indiana State on their home floor.

However, now the Commodores have seemed to hit their stride at just the right time, as they're currently riding a seven-game winning streak and are 3-0 in the SEC.

That seven-game winning streak includes a romping of then-No.13 Marquette on the road.

What's made this recent surge so impressive by the Commodores is how they're getting contributions from many different players.

During their current winning streak, the Commodores have had at least three different players score in double figures in all of those games.

In fact, the Commodores have four different players currently averaging double figures in points and three players averaging more than five rebounds per game.

That's the key ingredient for the Commodores to continue to have success and climb back into the Top 25.

The Commodores are a way better team when they're balanced than when they're relying on Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins to have All-American type performances night in and night out.

Then you have the return of Festus Ezeli, who didn't return until the game against Davidson on December 7th. Since his return, the Commodores have lost just once.

Ezeli provides that inside presence on defense that the Commodores are ordinary at best without.

That inside presence will be critical if the Commodores are even going to contend with Kentucky for the SEC, much less beat them head-to-head.

One thing that continues to plague the Commodores is their lack of production from the bench. Guys like Kyle Fuller, Dai-Jon Parker and Kedren Johnson have given up big leads time and time again this season.

These guys have to start doing a better job at holding leads while the starters rest up or stay out of foul trouble.

Now the Commodores will enter the toughest part of their schedule with their confidence restored once again.

Four of their next six games will come against teams that will likely be in the NCAA tournament, with No.15 Mississippi State being their next ranked opponent.

When you scan the remaining schedule for the Commodores, there's no reason why the Commodores can't make the NCAA tournament yet again despite the sluggish start to the season.

Maybe sneaking into the tournament will make the Commodores more hungry than in seasons past, when the Commodores have seemed to let their guard down in the first round, leading to early exits to teams like Siena and Murray State.

The Commodores still have plenty of opportunities to boost their tournament resume back up and get back to where everyone expected them to be heading into the season, when they were ranked No. 7.

They have the momentum, and they should have the confidence to make a strong run into March.

Vanderbilt has the reputation of an underachiever.

How could it not? Despite being favored in each of their past three tournament appearances, the Commodores haven't escaped the first round, losing to the likes of Siena, Murray State, and Richmond.

This year, too, they have underachieved to the tune of a 13-4 record after being ranked No. 7 in the preseason. 

Home losses to Cleveland State and Indiana State are resume-killers, and overtime losses to Xavier and Louisville aren't as acceptable as they were one month ago. Both the Musketeers and Cardinals have cooled off tremendously since their torrid starts to 2011-12.

However, Festus Ezeli missed the first three losses, and while he played against Indiana State, he still was not 100 percent recovered from the knee surgery that sidelined him for the season's first month.

Ezeli's athletic defensive presence down low was the main reason Vanderbilt cracked the Top 10 in the preseason. Without him, the Commodores probably would have ranked closer to No. 15.

That's how valuable he is to Vanderbilt—if you haven't realized that already.

Since Ezeli returned as a regular to the Commodore rotation, Kevin Stallings' team has reeled off five straight victories. He hasn't quite played like the Festus Ezeli who averaged 13 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks a season ago, but it's not a coincidence that the Commodores are winning with him on the floor.

This is—almost, pending Ezeli returning to 100 percent—the preseason No. 7 team. 

Yes, the Commodores have beaten up on three of the many woeful SEC teams—Auburn, South Carolina, and Georgia—but they also picked up a much-needed victory at Marquette with Ezeli contributing eight points and seven rebounds.

This week, Vanderbilt came in at No. 26 in the AP and ESPN/USA Today polls and No. 27 in the B/R Writers Rankings, but some of the teams ahead of the Commodores aren't any more deserving of cracking the Top 25.

Kansas State, which edged Vanderbilt for the No. 25 spot in the AP Top 25 and the B/R Writers Rankings, is one of those teams. While the Wildcats have beaten Alabama and Missouri—both at home—they played an easier non-conference schedule than the Commodores, according to Kenpom, and rank two spots lower in the RPI.

Kansas State nearly defeated Baylor but it followed its 75-73 loss to the Bears with a nine-point loss at Oklahoma.

Despite beating a then-ranked Florida State team that had struggled immensely until this weekend, Harvard also doesn't deserve a spot over Vanderbilt in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. The Crimson lost to Fordham and are No. 53 in the RPI.

Compare the Commodores to the Wildcats and the Crimson.

Vanderbilt is 13-4 and No. 30 in the RPI. Its hot streak is current.

Kansas State is 12-4 and No. 32 in the RPI, but the Wildcats have lost three of their last four.

Harvard is 15-2, but the Fordham loss is an indelible stain on its resume.

Although the Wildcats have played tougher competition recently and have a very similar record and RPI, the Commodores' early struggles without Ezeli should be taken with a grain of salt.

Would Xavier have made its late comeback to force overtime with Ezeli playing? Would Peyton Siva have been able to knife through the lane for his game-winning layup as easily with Ezeli looming under the hoop?

The Commodores are hot now, and the Wildcats are not. The Crimson lost at the wrong time—right before Ivy League play.

Vanderbilt should be ranked over those teams right now, but wins over Alabama and Mississippi State this week would cement the Commodores as a Top 25 squad.

If not, it's because they've become known as underachievers.

And that's not fair.

It's hard to find a team that has performed further below expectations in this young college basketball season than the 7-4 Vanderbilt Commodores.

The Commodores have limped through the non-conference schedule so far, and just got done getting bounced from the Top 25 rankings for the second time this season after losing to Indiana State at home.

Many thought that the Commodores would start playing like their preseason ranking once they got Festus Ezeli back at center, but Ezeli has looked rusty in his two appearances.

Ezeli missed last night's route over cream-puff Longwood, which brings up the main problem the Commodores are facing as a team. They play very little defense no matter who they're playing.

There's no excuse for a team with Vanderbilt's talent to give up 71 points to a team that just entered Division I hoops in 2007.

In fact, at many times Longwood matched what Vanderbilt was able to do on the offensive side. Luckily for the Commodores, Longwood was its own worst enemy like most teams of their caliber.

The struggles of the Commodores has just reached the tip of the iceberg if they continue to play soft defense and rely on scoring 80 to 90 points every game to get a win.

That philosophy simply won't work against higher caliber teams like Kentucky, Florida and Alabama. Even Mississippi State and LSU will make a soft defense pay the price in the loss column.

Collapses in their defense led to blown leads against both No. 14 Xavier and No. 4 Louisville. Just winning one of those games would have the Commodores in a much better place right now.

Head coach Kevin Stallings has little time to get this issue figured out as No.10 Marquette still looms on the schedule along with a resurgent Middle Tennessee State team that is 10-2 with wins over UCLA and Belmont under their belt.

Furthermore, both of those squads rank in the top 50 out of over 300 Division I teams in scoring per game.

If the Commodores don't improve their defensive toughness then they'll drop at least two more non-conference games, which would be uncharted territory for Vanderbilt teams led by Stallings.

Some may say that the Commodores shouldn't panic because all that really matters is making the NCAA Tournament and going from there, and that's partially true.

However, there's no guarantee the Commodores will get the benefit of the doubt on Selection Sunday if they continue to sleep walk through this tough non-conference schedule.

There was some silver-lining that indirectly came the way of the Commodores as Davidson upset Kansas, which could end up leading to the Commodores getting credit for a quality win with their road win over Davidson a few weeks ago.

With the exception of that possible quality win, the Commodores have yet to notch a single win that will impress the selection committee.

It's certainly not too late for the Commodores to live up to their lofty preseason expectations, but guys like John Jenkins and Brad Tinsley certainly have to improve their defensive presence.

Ezeli also has to live up to how he played last season to give the Commodores a chance in this brutal schedule.

There's still plenty of chances on the schedule for the Commodores to shift the momentum back their favor, but dramatic changes have to occur.