The 2024-25 men’s basketball season has been surprisingly successful for the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Thanks to the hiring of new head coach Mark Byington in the offseason and some sweeping roster changes, the team has been performing at a very high level.

Entering SEC play, they are 12-1, with their only loss coming to the Drake Bulldogs. That is more victories than the team had in three out of the last five seasons under former head coach Jerry Stackhouse.

Byington has come in and made an immediate impact on the program, as his players have fully bought into his system. They’re getting the job done on both ends of the court, but there are going to be a lot of obstacles to overcome during conference play.

The SEC looks to be the best men’s basketball conference in the country. The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the top 25, the Tennessee Volunteers and Auburn Tigers, both reside here. The Alabama Crimson Tide, Florida Gators and Kentucky Wildcats are all in the top 10 as well.

Overall, there are 10 teams ranked in the top 25 and others who have received votes to be ranked. All 16 teams recorded double-digit wins during their non-conference schedules, as the SEC is projected to break the record for NCAA Tournament particpants in 2025.

It is going to be a battle of attrition working through this gauntlet over the next few weeks. There will be no nights off as all of the teams are solid, with all 16 ranking in the top 64 of ESPN’s BPI.

How do they stack up against each other?

Over at UK Wildcats Wire, SEC power rankings were put together.

The Commodores still have some work to do to garner respect compared to their peers, as they were placed at No. 14. Only the South Carolina Gamecocks and LSU Tigers were ranked behind them.

Vanderbilt will be matching up against LSU on the road in their SEC opener on Jan. 4. It will be the toughest opponent they have played against to this point, as their schedule is a major reason that they are being overlooked at this point.

Drake and the TCU Horned Frogs, both neutral site games, are the only opponents inside the top 100 of the NET Rankings the Commodores have faced off against thus far. Their opponent’s average NET Ranking is 314, which is in the bottom 50 of the nation.

That number is going to skyrocket as they will be playing 12 games against teams currently ranked in the top 25. They have the unfortunate luck of drawing Tennessee and Kentucky as the teams they will face twice.

Byington and his crew will have ample opportunities to prove the doubters wrong, as a conference record near the .500 mark could be enough to push them into the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2017.