Jerry Stackhouse evaluates Vanderbilt's SEC Tournament run

275133747_4796292347117549_592518599057046758_nby:Jonathan Wagner•03/12/23•

Jonathan Wagner

Vanderbilt fell just short of making the 2023 SEC Tournament championship game. After the Commodores lost to Texas A&M in the semifinals on Saturday, Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse evaluated what it meant to go on a run in Nashville.

Vanderbilt won games against LSU and Kentucky on Thursday and Friday to reach the semifinals on Saturday. The Commodores are now 20-14 overall on the season.

“I thought we had a great opportunity to get there last year,” Stackhouse said of making it to Saturday in the SEC Tournament. “Again, the game was in a balance. We had an opportunity, but we didn’t quite get it done. We were able to get it done this time around.”

Now, with Vanderbilt’s SEC Tournament run over, Stackhouse and his team are waiting to find out if they will earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Stackhouse has made it clear that he believes Vanderbilt should be in, though the Commodores were one of the first four teams out of the projected field entering Selection Sunday, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

Stackhouse wants Vanderbilt to earn a higher seed moving forward

With Vanderbilt’s NCAA Tournament hopes in doubt, Stackhouse wants to put his team in a better position to make the March Madness field in the future. By earning a higher SEC Tournament seed, the Commodores would not only have another day of rest, but their resume for the NCAA Tournament would seemingly be stronger already. That’s a win-win for Stackhouse.

“But, again, we want to try to improve our seeding,” Stackhouse added. “That’s what it’s about. The lower seeding, the less turnaround you have, especially when you get to these days.

“Having a few hours of rest, it means a lot at this point of the year, this point of the season. Now it’s like not any more back-to-backs. Now you can really sit down and prepare and get ready for what’s next.”

In addition to being 20-14 overall, Vanderbilt had an 11-7 record against SEC opponents during the regular season. The Commodores had won five straight games and ten out of their last 11 prior to losing to Texas A&M in Saturday’s semifinals.