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.
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
| Season | Head coach | Overall win | Overall loss | Overall pct. | Conf. win | Conf. loss | Conf. pct. | Postseason NIT/NCAA |
| 1 | Mark Byington | 20 | 13 | .606 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 1 NCAA |
| 4 | Jerry Stackhouse | 61 | 69 | 24 | 46 | 2 NIT | ||
| 3 | Bryce Drew | 40 | 59 | .404 | 16 | 38 | .296 | 1 NCAA |
| 17 | Kevin Stallings | 332 | 219 | 138 | 142 | 5 NIT, 7 NCAA, 1 SEC Tournament Championship | ||
| 6 | Jan van Breda Kolff | 104 | 81 | 43 | 53 | 3 NIT, 1 NCAA | ||
| 4 | Eddie Fogler | 81 | 48 | 38 | 30 | 2 NIT, 2 NCAA, 1 SEC Championship | ||
| 8 | C. M. Newton | 129 | 115 | 64 | 80 | 2 NIT, 2 NCAA | ||
| 2 | Richard Schmidt | 28 | 27 | 14 | 22 | |||
| 3 | Wayne Dobbs | 38 | 42 | 23 | 31 | |||
| 16 | Roy Skinner | 278 | 135 | ' | 171 | 97 | ' | 2 NCAA, 2 SEC Championships |
| 13 | Bob Polk | 197 | 106 | 107 | 75 | 1 SEC Tournament Championship | ||
| 1 | Smokey Harper | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 3 | Norm Cooper | 24 | 25 | 16 | 22 | |||
| 5 | Jim Buford | 47 | 50 | 22 | 36 | |||
| 4 | Garland "Gus" Morrow | 31 | 40 | 10 | 21 | |||
| 2 | Johnny Floyd | 9 | 19 | 4 | 10 | |||
| 9 | Josh Cody | 98 | 100 | 56 | 41 | 1 Southern Conference Tournament Championship | ||
| 2 | Wallace Wade | 24 | 16 | .600 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1 | Ray Morrison | 8 | 2 | .800 | 0 | 0 | .000 | |
| 2 | Ralph Palmer | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 6 | G. T. Denton | 26 | 20 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 SIAA Championship | |
| 1 | Oscar G. Nelson | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 2 | Carl Martin | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 1 | R. B McGehee | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 1 | W. L. Throop | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 1 | J. N. Stone | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 2 | E. J. Hamilton | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 1 SIAA Championship | |
| 1 | Grinnell Jones | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | ||
| 2 | W. D. Weatherford | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Conference affiliations
Vanderbilt has been affiliated with the following conferences.- Independent
- SIAA
- Southern Conference
- Southeastern Conference
Conference championships
| 1909 | SIAA Season Championship | E. J. Hamilton | 11-4 | 5-0 |
| 1920 | SIAA Season Championship | G. T. Denton | 14-4 | 6-0 |
| 1927 | Southern Tournament Championship | Josh Cody | 20-4 | 7-1 |
| 1951 | SEC Tournament Championship | Bob Polk | 18-9 | 9-5 |
| 1965 | SEC Season Championship | Roy Skinner | 24-4 | 15-1 |
| 1974 | SEC Season Championship | Roy Skinner | 23-5 | 15-3 |
| 1993 | SEC Season Championship SEC East Division Championship | Eddie Fogler | 28-6 | 14-2 |
| 2012 | SEC Tournament Championship | Kevin Stallings | 25-11 | 10-6 |
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. | Player | Pos. | Career | Ref. |
| 25 | Perry Wallace | SF | 1967–70 | |
| 32 | Shan Foster | SG, SF | 2004–08 | |
| 43 | Clyde Lee | PF, C | 1964–66 |
- 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.| 1965 | Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight | DePaul Michigan | W 83–78 OT L 85–87 | |
| 1974 | Sweet Sixteen Regional 3rd Place Game | Marquette Notre Dame | L 61–69 L 88–118 | |
| 1988 | #7 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen | #10 Utah State
| W 80–77W 80–74 OT L 64–77 |
| 1989 | #8 | Round of 64 | #9 Notre Dame | L 65–81 |
| 1991 | #9 | Round of 64 | #8 Georgetown | L 60–70 |
| 1993 | #3 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen | #14 Boise State
| W 92–72W 85–68 L 59–67 |
| 1997 | #7 | Round of 64 | #10 Xavier | L 68–80 |
| 2004 | #6 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen | #11 Western Michigan
| W 71–58W 75–73 L 53–73 |
| 2007 | #6 | Round of 64 Round of 32 Sweet Sixteen | #11 George Washington
| W 77–44W 78–74 2OT L 65–66 |
| 2008 | #4 | Round of 64 | #13 Siena | L 62–83 |
| 2010 | #4 | Round of 64 | #13 Murray State | L 65–66 |
| 2011 | #5 | Round of 64 | #12 Richmond | L 66–69 |
| 2012 | #5 | Round of 64 Round of 32 | #12 Harvard
| W 79–70L 57–60 |
| 2016 | #11 | First Four | #11 Wichita State | L 50–70 |
| 2017 | #9 | Round of 64 | #8 Northwestern | L 66–68 |
| 2025 | #10 | Round of 64 | #7 Saint Mary's | L 56–59 |