Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball


The Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represents Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference. The Commodores have won three SEC regular-season titles and two SEC Tournament championships. They have competed in 15 NCAA Tournaments, making it to the Elite Eight once and the Sweet Sixteen six times. Vanderbilt has played in 14 National Invitation Tournaments, winning it in 1990 and finishing runners-up in 1994. The Commodores have also won one Southern Tournament championship as well as two SIAA regular-season titles. The Commodores have won eight conference championships in total.
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Memorial Gymnasium

The Commodores play their home games in Memorial Gymnasium. Memorial Gymnasium was built in the early 1950s. It was dedicated as the campus memorial to students and alumni killed in World War II; a plaque commemorating those who died is displayed in the gym's north lobby.
At the time of the gym's construction, there was a serious discussion within the Vanderbilt community about whether the school should de-emphasize intercollegiate athletics and refocus on its academic program. As a compromise between those who advocated increased athletics competition and those who argued in favor of de-emphasis, the gymnasium was built to hold only about 9,000 seats, and it would be readily adaptable to other uses—significantly, as a possible concert hall.
Consequently, the gymnasium floor was built up above its surroundings, more in the nature of a stage. The areas out of bounds along the sidelines were very wide, in contrast with the small facility which it replaced, where the walls were right along the sidelines and players could scrape their shoulders bringing the ball up the court. This necessitated the placement of the benches at the end of the court, which was not highly unusual at the time.
In addition, each goal was anchored by two far-reaching beams attached to support columns, with extra support coming from cables stretching all the way to the gym's ceiling. In the case of a backboard shatter or beam fracture, replacing these goals would be highly difficult, compared to the usual goal setup at most venues.
Memorial Gym is well known for its unusual design. The end-of-the-floor bench location is now unique in major college basketball, and SEC coaches who travel to Memorial, along with coaches from other schools who have played at Vanderbilt as a post-season venue, have said that the unusual setup gives Vanderbilt a tremendous home court advantage, since no other facility in which opponents play is arranged in such a way.

Year-by-year season records

Note: Fansonly.com reports Vanderbilt's overall record in 1937–38 as 9–12, while SECSports.com reports it as 10–11.
Source: Soconsports.com
Source: SECSports.com
Source: Fansonly.com

Vanderbilt coaching record

SeasonHead coachOverall winOverall lossOverall pct.Conf. winConf. lossConf. pct.Postseason NIT/NCAA
1Mark Byington2013.606810.4441 NCAA
4Jerry Stackhouse616924462 NIT
3Bryce Drew4059.4041638.2961 NCAA
17Kevin Stallings3322191381425 NIT, 7 NCAA, 1 SEC Tournament Championship
6Jan van Breda Kolff1048143533 NIT, 1 NCAA
4Eddie Fogler814838302 NIT, 2 NCAA, 1 SEC Championship
8C. M. Newton12911564802 NIT, 2 NCAA
2Richard Schmidt28271422
3Wayne Dobbs38422331
16Roy Skinner278135'17197'2 NCAA, 2 SEC Championships
13Bob Polk197106107751 SEC Tournament Championship
1Smokey Harper12300.000
3Norm Cooper24251622
5Jim Buford47502236
4Garland "Gus" Morrow31401021
2Johnny Floyd919410
9Josh Cody9810056411 Southern Conference Tournament Championship
2Wallace Wade2416.60020
1Ray Morrison82.80000.000
2Ralph Palmer14500.000
6G. T. Denton262000.0001 SIAA Championship
1Oscar G. Nelson3400.000
2Carl Martin171100.000
1R. B McGehee10300.000
1W. L. Throop61000.000
1J. N. Stone6100.000
2E. J. Hamilton17500.0001 SIAA Championship
1Grinnell Jones6000.000
2W. D. Weatherford7400.000

Conference affiliations

Vanderbilt has been affiliated with the following conferences.

Conference championships

Vanderbilt has won five conference season championships, three conference tournament championships, and one division season championship. The Commodores have won eight conference championships in total.
1909SIAA Season ChampionshipE. J. Hamilton11-45-0
1920SIAA Season ChampionshipG. T. Denton14-46-0
1927Southern Tournament ChampionshipJosh Cody20-47-1
1951SEC Tournament ChampionshipBob Polk18-99-5
1965SEC Season ChampionshipRoy Skinner24-415-1
1974SEC Season ChampionshipRoy Skinner23-515-3
1993SEC Season Championship
SEC East Division Championship		Eddie Fogler28-614-2
2012SEC Tournament ChampionshipKevin Stallings25-1110-6

First college basketball game played

Vanderbilt defeated Nashville YMCA in, in the in history. Vanderbilt's start to college basketball occurred just two years after Dr. James Naismith originated the game of basketball at Springfield College.

Retired numbers

Only three male Commodores have had their jerseys retired by the university:
No.PlayerPos.CareerRef.
25Perry WallaceSF1967–70
32Shan FosterSG, SF2004–08
43Clyde LeePF, C1964–66

  • Clyde Lee was perhaps the greatest player in Commodore history. He averaged the most points per game in school history and the balconies on the south end of Memorial Gymnasium are commonly referred to as the "balconies that Clyde built".
  • Perry Wallace was the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference, and the first African American to compete in the SEC for his entire period of athletic eligibility.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Commodores have appeared in the NCAA tournament 16 times. Their combined record is 10–17.
1965Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight		DePaul
Michigan		W 83–78 OT
L 85–87
1974Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game		Marquette
Notre Dame		L 61–69
L 88–118
1988#7Round of 64
Round of 32
Sweet Sixteen		#10 Utah State
  1. 2 Pittsburgh
  2. 6 Kansas
W 80–77W 80–74 OT
L 64–77
1989#8Round of 64#9 Notre DameL 65–81
1991#9Round of 64#8 GeorgetownL 60–70
1993#3Round of 64
Round of 32
Sweet Sixteen		#14 Boise State
  1. 6 Illinois
  2. 7 Temple
W 92–72W 85–68
L 59–67
1997#7Round of 64#10 XavierL 68–80
2004#6Round of 64
Round of 32
Sweet Sixteen		#11 Western Michigan
  1. 3 NC State
  2. 2 Connecticut
W 71–58W 75–73
L 53–73
2007#6Round of 64
Round of 32
Sweet Sixteen		#11 George Washington
  1. 3 Washington State
  2. 2 Georgetown
W 77–44W 78–74 2OT
L 65–66
2008#4Round of 64#13 SienaL 62–83
2010#4Round of 64#13 Murray StateL 65–66
2011#5Round of 64#12 RichmondL 66–69
2012#5Round of 64
Round of 32		#12 Harvard
  1. 4 Wisconsin
W 79–70L 57–60
2016#11First Four#11 Wichita StateL 50–70
2017#9Round of 64#8 NorthwesternL 66–68
2025#10Round of 64#7 Saint Mary'sL 56–59

NIT results

The Commodores have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament 14 times. Their combined record is 24–13. They were NIT champions in 1990.
1983First Round
Second Round		East Tennessee State
Wake Forest		W 79–73
L 68–75
1987First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		Jacksonville
Florida State
Southern Miss		W 74–72
W 109–92
L 88–95
1990First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship Game		Louisiana Tech
Tennessee
New Orleans
Penn State
Saint Louis		W 98–90
W 89–85
W 88–85
W 75–62
W 74–72
1992First RoundRhode IslandL 63–68
1994First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Championship Game		Oklahoma
New Orleans
Clemson
Kansas State
Villanova		W 77–67
W 78–59
W 89–74
W 82–76
L 73–80
1996First Round
Second Round		Arkansas–Little Rock
South Carolina		W 86–80
L 70–80
1998First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		St. Bonaventure
Wake Forest
Georgia		W 73–61
W 72–68
L 65–79
2000First RoundWake ForestL 68–83
2002Opening Round
First Round		Houston
Louisiana Tech		W 59–50
L 68–83
2005First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		Indiana
Wichita State
Memphis		W 67–60
W 65–63
L 68–81
2006First RoundNotre DameL 69–79
2015First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		Saint Mary's
South Dakota State
Stanford		W 75–64
W 92–77
L 75–78
2022First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		Belmont
Dayton
Xavier		W 82–71
W 70–68OT
L 73–75
2023First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals		Yale
Michigan
UAB		W 71–62
W 66–65
L 59–67

All-Americans

Source: VUCommodores.com

SEC Players of the Year

Source: VUCommodores.com

Olympians

Other notable players

Vanderbilt alums coaching in college basketball

Coaching awards

All-time leaders

Totals current as of March 15, 2012.

Blocks

Source: 2015–16 Vanderbilt Commodores Media Guide