Breaking down Vanderbilt WBB's non-conference schedule

welcome back to the Vandy Sports podcast I've got Brandon bsby alongside with me my name is Elena Morris and Brandon and we've been looking for this day forward to this day for quite a while now Vanderbilt Women's Basketball has released their non-conference schedule yeah Elena so glad to be here with you and like you said I mean we have been itching for this non-conference schedule to come out for I mean a little bit over a month now right so I'm really looking forward to it I know everyone listening is really looking forward to it a lot to go through a lot to dissect on what is a really fun and interesting non-conference schedule that Vanderbilt has this year so excited to kind of go through and break all these games down with you most definitely and before we get started we'd like to take a second to thank our presenting basketball sponsor the Wash House are you dreading laundry day is it stealing time away from doing the things that you truly enjoy well let the laundry professionals at the Wash House take care of that for you with two convenient locations in the greater Nashville area just drop off your dirty laundry and the professional attendance can give you back the one thing you can never have enough of which is your time within 24 hours you can pick up your nicely folded fresh and clean laundry ready to be put away you can go online to www.wc.com or you can stop in today and get your time back so we' like to thank them for being our presenting sponsor today Brandon let's kick it off with game one November 4th I think that anybody watching who knows me just even in the slightest knows I'm very excited for the opening game yeah I think both of us have uh a couple of reasons to we're excited for this one uh Vanderbilt opening up with libum to start out the season libum a team that went 17 and 13 last season that'll be on the opener on November 4th which is a Monday and you know Elena obviously we're very familiar with lium both of the both of us have called games for the women's team over there and are pretty familiar with their roster lium a team that has been within the top four in the Aon but Vanderbilt he played in the last two years was a close game in 2022 last year Vanderbilt able to win that game pretty convincingly I believe the score was 72 to 50 at home at Memorial Gym so I think a good little tuneup game in a local game too that a lot of fans can be excited about and it'll be interesting to kind of watch how Vanderbilt looks coming out of the gate against a team that not only is a local team but also a team they're familiar with as well yeah definitely I think it's a great opening game for both sides I mean both teams being in Nashville will give you know both fan bases an opportunity to head over to Memorial to to cheer on their respective teams but as you mentioned we follow lipsum along quite closely both students there um along with Joey so very familiar with with that school but it's a very guard heavy team um libum is they lost their all pretty much all their their bigs um after this past season so a guard heavy team and I think because of that you know Vanderbilt really has the opportunity to get out and run um and take advantage of being the bigger team in that opening day but it'll be interesting to see you know the starting lineup what both teams come out of the gates with and I think that you know they nailed it by opening up with the local team yeah like you said libum a very guard heavy team they actually lost all of their centers from a year ago other than one so three of the four centers on last year's roster no longer on that team so Vanderbilt going to have a size Advantage going to have probably a bit of an athletic advantage as well one storyline that I think cannot go under the radar is that interesting that that going to be the first game of the year I'm very curious to see if Madison Green will be playing in that game if you recall last year when Madison Green tore her ACL it was in the game against lipsum so how cool of a story would it be for her to be able to return in the same game against the same team where she got injured last year and that derailed her season so kind of a bit of a Side Story there too that I think could be really interesting would be really cool to see her be able to return for that game fully healthy and kind of be able to complete that especially considering how things ended last year against that same team yeah for sure and of course you know with an injury like that you never know um how a player is going to you know progress it's different for everybody but it would definitely be awesome to see her get back out on the floor and I know at some point she will make an appearance we don't know if it'll be the first game or a few games later it just depends on how she's feeling but that's definitely a piece to look forward to um if you're Vanderbilt and moving on to that next game the uh commodor is hosting back-to-back Ace on opponents the Austin P Governors will also be coming to Memorial we've seen them play a couple times and that's a tough team as well yeah Austin P they're a team that typically have not been wanted names that you typically hear out of the ason a lot of times you kind of hear people talk about FGCU because of their dominance there but Austin P they've been a sneaky team finished six in the a sun last season but were able to make it all the way to the a sun semifinal so that's a team that even though the record may not necessarily stand out to you they have some pretty good players now obviously I think that most people would expect vanderbild to win that game I think they're obviously a more talented team than Austin P is but again this is college basketball you can never underestimate any opponent we've seen Austin P they are a team that is very gritty they have a lot of athletes they're a team that have really kind of risen up within the last few years too it feels like they've just gotten marginally better every single year under the new coaching regime over there so I think that's going to be a really interesting mid- major test for Vanderbilt starting out the season especially considering that it is a safe conference opponent as libum and it's just a few days after that opening that game as well most definitely and you're right about that they've definitely been on the come up the past couple of years but after two games playing a on opponents at home Vanderbilt setting out for Florida to take on the USF Bulls that's a very interesting game for me and I think that's going to be the most underrated if you will game uh the Bulls picked up mama deal from Missouri who spent the last four years there so Shay Ralph and Vanderbilt is very familiar uh with how she likes to play basketball and so that's a team that you know they like to play play the bigger teams they're playing Yukon right before they come home to host Vanderbilt last year they played Texas they played Alabama so they're not afraid to be tested I just think that this team is you know the record's pretty solid for um the amount of you know high quality opponents that they played but Vanderbilt that's someone they will have to be most definitely prepared for especially being their first road game yeah I think that this South Florida game is the one that is the most intriguing to me for a few reasons you mentioned the Shay Ralph connection people forget that Yukon was in the American Conference for a while before they ended up going to the Big East and Shay Ralph was an assistant there their number one competition in the American Conference every single year was South Florida and their head coach Jose Fernandez he's been there since 2000 so obviously same scheme similar coaching staff that's going to be a really interesting matchup to me because UCF they W or USF rather they're one of those teams that typically people don't talk about a lot but they've been one of the more consistent programs for the last 10 to 15 years they had three straight tournament appearances prior to last season they've had a winning record each of the last 13 Seasons they've made the tournament in eight of the last 12 so I think this is a really good test for Vanderbilt against a team that very well could be a tournament team this year and not just that but a team that again has some pedigree has some history and has been one that consistently winning teams within the country arguably as much as anyone else in any other program it's not often that you see a team have that much sustain success so really fun test I think for Vanderbilt out of the gate especially considering that they're going to have to fly to Tampa for that as well and I'll bring up the point that we haven't quite got to yet women's basketball is now switched to quads uh so if you're not familiar with that or you didn't know that now you do and that's you know something to pay attention to quads uh one two three and four obviously the lowest quad quity opponents lower quality quad 3 four games or higher quality games quad one and two you know a very complex and I'll try to you know simplify as best as I can but I think that for Vanderbilt it's smart for them to go play down at USF because if for some reason they were to come to Memorial and upset Vanderbilt that loss looks bad on Vanderbilt's part because it was a home game but if you're going down to South Florida and you happen to lose that game it looks like a better loss because of the quad system now and if they win on a road on the road it looks even better then so I think that this contest as their first road game I think it's a very solid opponent and I think it's smart the way that they had set that up yeah I think that's a good point too toena just thinking about just now the the Inception of the Quad system because now you're comparing something that could be potentially only a quad two win or a quad two loss to something that would be a quad one win or quad one loss and that is a massive difference when you're talking about a Vanderbilt team that just seven months ago or six months ago was really kind of biting their nails tried to figure out whether they were going to be in the tournament or not a team that was one of the last four teams in will be playing a few teams that are going to be in the bubble conversation not just in SEC play but also in non-conference play that is a huge huge difference I mean if Vanderbilt is in the same situation that they were in just a season ago and it's a matter of a game in a game there that could be the difference between them making the tournament and not making the tournament a quad one win versus USF would be huge especially considering that again south Florida could very well be a team that was on the bubble because they were in the bubble conversation just last season so I think that's a really good point and it's something that is a strategy that coaches always kind of have to maneuver and navigate their way through and on the women's side this is a little bit newer luckily there is that history on the men's side that you can kind of transfer over so I love that move by Shay Ral and her staff I think that's a great quality win that they could potentially add on but again if they do happen to lose it wouldn't be as damaging losing it at Tampa Bay compared to losing it at Memorial most definitely and then the commodor will come back home for a three game um little streak there they've got Butler Hampton and Stamford and the game I really want to focus on is is Butler um the other two those should be two teams that Vanderbilt uh takes care of pretty easily if they you know do what they need to do uh Butler in my eyes is the toughest home game that Vanderbilt has they played him last year um on the road and that game was a very gritty game a very sloppy game you know both teams not shooting the best uh Vanderbilt came out on top by I believe a double digit around maybe 12 points if if I remember that correctly but um I think that that's a good test for them too a little home and home series between a team out of the Big East and i' have to say that that's probably the toughest home game that but will'll have until they reach the SEC play yeah I definitely agree with that and it's interesting with Butler because you look at them last season they went 15 and 17 they finished eighth in the Big East they did qualify for the women's in it though last season so they did get a little bit of postseason experience they're kind of a team that in terms of their situation they remind me a little bit of Vanderbilt a few years ago head coach Austin Parkinson in his third season of what's been a very lengthy rebuild he inherited a butler team only won four games in two seasons prior to his arrival they had only won one game the season before he did come there so he kind of knew that it was going to be a long process there but again 15 and 17 last season we're close to that 500 mark it feels like there one of those programs that are on a similar trajectory to what Vanderbilt was when Shay Ralph first got there and she was entering her third season so Butler could be a team that despite not being amazing the last few seasons could surprise some people they might have a couple of players that have developed over the offseason they may have a couple of transfers or freshman come in that is a game that I think could potentially be one of those not a trap game I don't think there's necessarily a trap game there but I think that's a game that could be a little bit closer to what some people expect when you just look at Butler and what they were last season I agree with you there and you know when you have a new coach come in and like you used uh sheral as an example it takes a little bit of time and so Butler is starting to get to that point where they should see those results and so I think that because of that that is the most difficult team that Vanderbilt will host uh after Butler you have Hampton coming into Memorial they went 3 and 26 last year that shouldn't be much of a concern at all for Vanderbilt right after that Samford out of the socon they went 14 and 16 so not a great mid major like libum or um Austin P who got to compete in their conference tournament so those should be two games that Vanderbilt um can win after that this is where it gets to an interesting part uh right around Thanksgiving the com are heading out to the Acure classic in Palm Springs California this is this is what I've been looking forward to talking about Brandon in my opinion I think that that first game against Arizona is the most important game that Vanderbilt has after that they'll play either if they win they'll play the winner of Cal in Michigan State if they lose they'll play the loser of that game so we don't know that second game's going to be yet and that's why I think the Arizona game is the most important that's your first you know Taste of a power four opponent a team that made the NCAA tournament last year they were in the the first four in just like Vander or your last four in just like Vanderbilt they won that game first four um I believe that was against Auburn so an SEC opponent and then they lost the first round game to Syracuse so exact same tournament experience that vanderbelt had um because of that I just think that that Arizona game uh is going to be very important for Vanderbilt yeah I think like you said the most important game on the schedule right now that we know is confirmed for Vanderbilt this season and I mean you have to remember too ER Iona they were 18 and 16 last season that's a down year for that program this is a team that had just made the National Championship in 2021 and they only lost that game by one point to Stanford they were a bucket away from being national champions just three years ago what coach Barnes is build in Arizona has been really really one of the in my opinion more underrated Powerhouse programs in the country which is crazy to think about but there's just been so many teams in the Pack 12 and now will will be the big 12 for Arizona that kind of outshine them because of the presence of teams like Stanford UCLA and USC making the Rises that they have the last few seasons to where people kind of forgot about Arizona to a certain extent but they've been one of the better teams in the country for a long time now so Vanderbilt getting the opportunity to go in a neutral site playing against them and having the opportunity to put up a really high quality win on the resume that's going to be a really big opportunity for them and I think that's going to be one that this team has circle on the calendar already they know what that game could mean for them not even just in terms of quads and scheduling and resumes I think just to make a statement that says hey vanderbild is here we can come out and play one of the best programs in the country and not just compete with them but beat them as well I'm really intrigued by that Arizona Game and then you mentioned the winner or loser between California and Michigan State two other power five teams California a team that finished 19 and 15 Michigan State a team that finished 22-9 last year so that's going to be very interesting Michigan State they did lose around seven or eight players I think last year so it's going to be a very different looking Spartans team but nevertheless a team that has a lot of talent a team that made the tournament last season this portion of the schedule I think is where Vanderbilt really has a chance to kind of put their resume and put their standing within the country at that next level based on how they do in that aurer classic yeah I'm with you there those are two solid uh programs you mentioned Michigan State making the tournament they did lose some players but they picked up some big pieces I know Grace Van Luton from Oregon State made her way up um to Michigan State they picked up other pieces and it seems like they're hot on the recruiting Trail too I've seen quite a few recruits on Twitter who have been making their way up there to uh East lanting for some visits and so that's a team that's starting to um like Vanderbilt find some some success and so they're starting to hit their stride um and so Michigan state that would definitely be good competition as well as cow they didn't quite make the NCAA tournament but they were also on that bubble I know they were being talked about and um they were able to compete in the wbit one of those newer postseason tournaments and so those are four solid teams in that tournament and so that is going to be some very exciting basketball to watch actually nationally televised too um that entire tournament will be on True TV so be easy to to catch those games and um should be some good ones too uh before they head back home for another mid major team the appalachin Mountaineers out of the Sun Belt Conference coming to Memorial the first day of December yeah and ab State 175 last season the Sun Belt kind of a sneaky you know mid- major conference they've had some good teams come out you know I think the first team that really has come to mind in the past has been those Marshall teams of the last couple of years that really have stepped up and have made a name for themselves obviously coach cwell now making her way to the team up East in Tennessee but you know AB State that's another name to where Maybe a team that doesn't necessarily scream at you because of the name because of the record but still a team that I think can give Vanderbilt some pretty good competition that's going to be a lot fun to watch I don't know if that's necessarily a trap game per se either but again another team that could be a little bit better than the record from last season and could give Vanderbilt one of those sneaky tests that again I think every single team is going to have at some point during their non-conference schedule so I mean really the schedule is well balanced I think App State really kind of compliments as well what they're looking for for that I agree with you there it's a nice little game to put in between that tournament and this next one that's also going to be a fun one for us to talk about Vanderbilt in the ACC SEC challenge the commodos will travel to take on Miami that's interesting to me that's a very guard heavy team who just picked Haley Cavender back up from TCU to join her sister there that that's going to be a good one Brandon yeah I'm really looking forward to that and you know obviously you mentioned the Cavender twins being there Miami being being a team that was kind of in that bubble conversation with Vanderbilt again just last season they finished ninth in the ACC we're 19 and 12 currently right now I know it's really early so put as much or as little stock into this as you will Charlie cream has Miami listed as his last team in during his Bracketology right now obviously very very early the last time it was updated was in May a lot has changed since then a lot will change since then but it does kind of tell you that Miami is in that same tier as Vanderbilt because Vanderbilt in that same Bracketology has one of the last four Buys so this is a team that is very comparable to Vanderbilt has a lot of talent I think a team that will be much better than what they were a season ago in terms of the talent that they have and also a team that has a new head coach Trisha cullup now the coach of Miami she takes over for Katie Meyer who had been there for around 20 years she retires a new coach comes in this is a Miami team that has talent from that 2023 team to make the Elite 8 still though so a very good test for Vanderbilt I'm interested to see how they look I don't know if it's necessarily going to be of the same level as of importance is an Arizona game or Michigan State game but Atlanta it's not far off especially considering that again this is an opportunity for a really high quality quad one win having to travel to Coral Gables to play Miami on the road in that game so when you add in that new Quad system games like this can mean a little bit more because when you do get down the Marg you're stacking up resumes against each other it can help your seating or it can be what gets you in the tournament as a whole so that game really really intriguing for a lot of reasons and one that I definitely have circle on the on the calendar yeah that'll definitely be a fun one and you know looking at the rest of the schedule after that I'd say that's the last true test that Vanderbilt gets um before uh heading into conference play they come home and they take on Evansville a team that again you know not to knock them down but finished last season 4 and 28 not you know a team that but should be super concerned about um any thoughts on on that game Brandon particularly I mean again you know Evansville you never know what can happen it is college basketball you never want to just underestimate any opponent but Evansville interestingly enough I was doing some research before we got in on the call Evansville they have not had a winning season since 20072 2008 so I don't think that's a game Vanderbilt will be overly worried about but again you never know what can happen we've seen near upsets happen in the past before remember a Fairfield team last year that not a lot of people expected much from took Vanderbilt to the absolute Brink so you just never know how things are going to unfold until that ball is tipped definitely I think that Western Kentucky game too at home last year for vanderbur that was probably a little bit too close for comfort uh but we're coming up to the last three games they'll take a road trip to Dayton Ohio um that was a team that Vanderbilt had hosted last year so I believe must just be a home and home agreement like they did with Butler uh Vanderbilt handled this Dayton team last year at home with ease Justine Pat went off for a big game against them they finished last year 12 and 19 that's their last road test before they come back home for two more games yeah and again I like that this game is on the road because it does bump up the potential earnings that you would get within that quad system you're comparing what maybe would be a quad three win at home to what could be a quad two win on the road so even though dating a team that was 12 and 19 last year the fact that you fly out to Ohio to play that game if you win it could mean a little bit more at the end of the year in terms of what that win can do for you at the end of the season compared to if you wanted at home last two games two games that Vanderbilt you know should have um you know on the right side of things should be should be ones that you know they can take care of uh West Georgia another ason opponent and actually their first season moving up from division two so that lack of experience playing against those bigger schools especially one like an SEC team Vanderbilt should be able to take care of West Georgia and they'll close out the non-conference portion of that schedule with Alabama A&M yeah and I think that West Georgia you know I think a lot of times people hear about these division two teams and they come up to division one and some of them can do really well a lot of times those teams have had a pretty good history of in division to typically 20 plus wins throughout the most recent history West Georgia they were only 16 and 13 last year in the golf conference so it's not like they were particularly great last year a division down so I don't really anticipate Vanderbilt having to struggle too much with them in Alabama A&M as you mentioned closing out the schedule with a pretty good home game 15 and 16 last year finished fifth in the swack again I don't really think that's a team Vanderbilt will be worried about too much and I kind of like that you have those two at the end of that non-conference schedule at home because with that Dayton team again I know they weren't great last year I know they were able to handle pretty convincingly last year they won that game by 17 it's a much different experience when you're having to travel on the road you have a dayon team that likely is going to be improved from what they were a year ago so I like that you have two teams at the end of this non-conference stretch at home one that is in their first season in division one and another that is a mid to low major opponent that was just a little bit under 500 last year before you really ramp things up with that SEC play so I think that again complement the balance with the the schedule that Shay Ralph and her staff built and Atlanta I'm not sure if you think but I feel like that's kind of the word of the day with the way they built this was just the balance of the schedule from top to bottom I think that you're right I think that if you look at this year and compare it to last year I think that there was um some strategy behind putting the schedule together I think that they put it together well um to set the themselves up for Success because I know at the end of the year they were kind of looking back at their non-conference that was really what was you know the yes or no of are you going to get in the tournament or not because they didn't have those bigger games I believe they played Iowa State at a neutral site and they played at NC State and those are really the only two games that were um you know jumped off the SK jumped off the paper um on that schedule but I think this year throwing in teams like you know Butler at home which I know they played them on the road last year USF as AA or yeah usf's a Sol game I mean they are picking up these bigger games and I think that the way they set they structured that schedule um will help them in the long run but if I counted right I believe there's 14 non-conference games that I maybe check my math and I'm not the best there but click glance at it I believe 14 how many wins and I'll put you on the spot do you think that vanderbelt could end up around should end up around what what are your initial thoughts on that Brandon oh man that's tough I think that this is probably just kind of looking at the schedule I think that they could end up with around 11 to 12 wins wins I think the games that would worry me a little bit is USF and then the Acer classic USF again that's just a team that I think Vanderbilt can win that game I would even probably favor them to win that game just because I think that much of the roster that they have I love the depth that this team has as well it's just going up against a team in South Florida that does have so much experience it is on the road it's right after you have those two home games against lip and Austin P really your first true road test of the Season Two Against an opponent like that I I just it's one of those games that feels like a coin flip that could end up being 50/50 and then again the Acer classic playing against Arizona and then having to play against either California or Michigan State you know Arizona they're a team that they were a little bit down last season but even their down season ended up resulting in an 11 seed in the tournament so that's going to be a really tough test for vand for Vanderbilt and then either Michigan State or Cal I would feel a bit better probably playing against Cal in terms of the chances of Vanderbilt being able to secure that win than I would Michigan State Michigan State obviously such a great program were amazing last season Cal a good program but have' been kind of on a bit of a downturn since the 1819 season that's the last time they made the tournament so it it's it's interesting I think those are really the three games and obviously you have Miami as well having to play against Haley Cavender having to play against the Miami team that has just a lot more talent I think last season or just better balance kind of similarly to what we talked about with vanderbel a team that is deeper than what they were a season ago having to travel to Florida for that game so if I if I'm doing my bad for I think it's 14 games I'll say they go 11 and three I think that that's a pretty fair one I think that they probably split in the Acer classic I don't know if they win all of those games but I think they at least been one of them I think they probably lose to Miami and I think that that USF game could end up being a toss up so I think that the the balance would be 11 and three the ceiling I think is probably 13- one I think they have that potential and I think that if you go to 10 wins you're not necessarily thrilled about it you might be a little bit more worried about how the resum is looking at the end of the non-conference but I don't think you're necessarily panicking either because of how strong the SEC is so it could go a lot of different ways I think that if it goes with the best way it can we could be talking about Vanderbilt being in the top 25 conversation at the end of M yeah the 13- one ceiling I'm I agree with you there if you were to tell me they go 13- one on that schedule I would say I can see it um now which game they drop I don't know uh because they do face quality opponents outside of their home gym but 13- one I think that that's reasonable um but for me uh off the bat I I was going to say 12- two only because of the depth that this team has if you look at last year and you look at this year's roster Vanderbilt just has the ability to play so many more people um and have so many different rotations and that's why I'll give them that extra game I think that they finish around 12- two um and honestly with that I think that they don't drop a game at home um and they didn't drop one at home last year so I think that because of that and even though they still were on that bubble they need to strive to hit that same goal of winning all of their games at home and that way if they were to win an extra game on the road it's going to give them a little you know push forward into maybe the rankings or maybe a a higher seed in the tournament or more security with that so I have them going around 12 and two and those two losses are really just uh you know coin tosses like you said I could see it happening you know in the aashir classic I can see it happening at Miami uh USF to just any of those you know four or five games right there can where it's could be where two of those losses come from but uh overall Brandon I like the way that this is set up scheduled for Vanderbilt um you know after last year you can't help but be excited about you know what's you know to come this year we don't have that conference schedule yet we don't know the dates um we do know the teams uh home and away we just don't know you know who that first conference game is going to be so I'm sure we'll talk about that once we find out that information but Brandon do you have any closing thoughts for today yeah I think just this is going to be early fun non-conference to look at for Vanderbilt a lot of different teams I think you can be excited about and I think to a good point from you Atlanta Vanderbilt has been just ridiculous at home this past year nine of their 14 non-conference games are at home so I think that gives them a significant Advantage if they win all of those home games you're already looking at a minimum of a nine and three non-conference which is insanely good I think they'll steal at least one of those away games I think they'll steal at least one of those neutral sight games and that's at a minimum I'm probably being a little bit conservative saying 11 and three but that's still really really good and it's still a team that should be surely in the tournament picture by the time SEC Conference time rolls around so if I'm a Vanderbilt fan I'm excited for the games that you've got I'm excited to kind of see what the team looks like and I think there's some really good opportunities for Vanderbilt come January to be one of those teams that people are once again talking about saying this might be one of the better teams in the country that we didn't see coming because they all of a sudden they're playing teams like Arizona and Michigan State in Miami and not just competing with them potentially even beating them so I think this has the potential to be a really big statement year for vanderbild I like the way they've built their non-conference and can we just start basketball already like can we just go ahead and simulate to November I'm excited for this I'm ready for them to tip off now it's going to be a ton of fun to watch I'm with you there Brandon I think that you know people would think it's November the way you and I talk about basketball so much I Brandon and I send each other the most random basketball facts or you know tidbits every day and so I'm sure you know you know you'd think it starts next week but we've got a couple of months to go Brandon but I think we we'll make it um no one's more excited for that first game than Brandon and I getting to see the school we go to uh play against the team that we we cover so we're looking forward to that November 4th is going to be a great day for college basketball fans and for Vanderbilt they're looking forward to a great season um after making the tournament last year so Shay Ralph looking to get her team um you know take another step forward and another good year for the commodor for Brandon thank you for joining me today I appreciate you spending some time with me to talk about basketball um and for you guys listening we appreciate um all of your support for checking out our coverage my name is Elena Morris thank you guys for checking us out today here at Vandy Sports we look forward to talking more basketball with you soon