Vanderbilt 2025 | Page 8 | The Boneyard
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Vanderbilt 2025

Nice vid from Vandy's Paradise Jam championship in the Virgin Islands. It's the first championship of any kind in coach Ralph's tenure. Modest as it may be, I'm still proud of it. My favorite part is hearing audio of coach Ralph in the locker room after the Oregon State win: "In the third quarter, ya'll were possessed."

I like it when they're possessed.

 
I'm looking forward to a time when Vandy permanently eclipses Tennessee in the SEC. I watched their game vs. UCLA and was shocked at how overly aggressive Tennessee was, and how they played borderline dirty. Janiah Barker was the worst. Not sure what's going on with them or why the HC has pushed them to be that way, but yuck. Every player, it seemed, fouled on defense every play. It was tough to watch.
 
Just watched the 2nd half uva vs Vandy. Whoop! Whoop!

I saw on the schedule that the game would be on a station I have and then I happened to take a nap.

Looking forward for more Vandy!
 
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Vandy gets back into action tonight with a 6:30 CT game at home against South Florida. Will be on SEC+.

This should be the Dores’ toughest remaining test in the non-conference part of the schedule, but it’s one of those games you expect to win. USF is 6-4 with a NET ranking of 65, making it a Quad 3 game for Vandy. Their best wins are over Duke and Harvard. They lost by just eight against a good Fairfield team.

The Dores are 19 in the NET. The biggest worry is a case of post-exam rustiness similar to what the guys suffered Saturday night against Central Arkansas. They won that game but did not look particularly sharp doing it. Not sure how many all-hands-on-deck practices coach Ralph’s squad managed during the 12-day layoff, but I’m sure they’ve gotten as much gym time as possible.
 
Vanderbilt is creeping. Defense is improved with just a couple folks a step behind in switches. The BIG thing is they do not play scared…AT ALL. I wish Pissott was more physical, but that’s probably not going to happen.
 
LwrcasefaN said:
Vanderbilt is creeping. Defense is improved with just a couple folks a step behind in switches. The BIG thing is they do not play scared…AT ALL. I wish Pissott was more physical, but that’s probably not going to happen.
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I hear you about Pissott, but, believe me, she has made vast improvements. Offensively, she has always planted herself at the three-point line and waited for a chance to shoot it. Shea finally got through to her that if she doesn’t play defense or rebound, her time will be very limited. She’s not exactly a whirling dervish, but she is playing harder and already has more minutes this season than she had for the entire season last year.

That exam period rustiness I mentioned showed up early. The team started 1 for 14 from the field and 0 for 12 from three against USF and led 11-7 after one period. I don’t think they get a lot of organized work during exams. I remember Shea saying last season, “Exams are no joke around here.” Still, they got it turned around and wound up with an 87-58 win. They’re 10-0 for just the sixth time in program history and up to 15 in the NET.

I have to admit, I have concerns about our front court against elite teams. South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Oklahoma and maybe Ole Miss could provide a dose of reality for us. Until then, I’m riding the wave.

My best guess is 8-8 in conference play, hoping for 9-7, or, on the outer edge, 10-6.
 
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YoDore said:
I hear you about Pissott, but, believe me, she has made vast improvements. Offensively, she has always planted herself at the three-point line and waited for a chance to shoot it. Shea finally got through to her that if she doesn’t play defense or rebound, her time will be very limited. She’s not exactly a whirling dervish, but she is playing harder and already has more minutes this season than she had for the entire season last year.

That exam period rustiness I mentioned showed up early. The team started 1 for 14 from the field and 0 for 12 from three against USF and led 11-7 after one period. I don’t think they get a lot of organized work during exams. I remember Shea saying last season, “Exams are no joke around here.” Still, they got it turned around and wound up with an 87-58 win. They’re 10-0 for just the sixth time in program history and up to 15 in the NET.

I have to admit, I have concerns about our front court against elite teams. South Carolina, Texas, LSU, Oklahoma and maybe Ole Miss could provide a dose of reality for us. Until then, I’m riding the wave.

My best guess is 8-8 in conference play, hoping for 9-7, or, on the outer edge, 10-6.
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The SEC is loaded. You mentioned four great teams and 1 good team. Vandy's growth will be measured by how they do against all five of those.

Do they miss Pierre?
 
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A fellow Vandy fan pointed this out to me: It’s mid-December, and Vanderbilt’s football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams have a total of 2 (two) losses. Their combined record is 30-2.

His conclusion: The multiverse is real.
 
victor64 said:
The SEC is loaded. You mentioned four great teams and 1 good team. Vandy's growth will be measured by how they do against all five of those.

Do they miss Pierre?
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It would probably be foolish to think we don’t miss a player with Pierre’s obvious talents. What I will say, though, is that this team is without doubt better than last year’s team. The obvious question then becomes how much better would it be with Pierre added to the mix? I don’t know the answer.

I understand what you’re saying about measuring progress by how the team does against Texas, South Carolina, LSU, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. At the same time, though, that’s two very probable final-four teams (Texas and SC) and another, LSU, that many feel has the best chance to elbow its way into the top-four group that also includes UConn and UCLA. Oklahoma could reasonably be forecast a step behind or in front of LSU, and Ole Miss is probably a step behind or in front of Oklahoma. (Then you’ve also got your Kentuckys and Tennessees to face).

I always try to have modest expectations. Final four has not even entered my mind. Competing with final-four type teams would be an obvious step forward for the program, but I do think there could be other, intermediate markers along the way. My Vandy fan PTSD won’t let me expect more. Not yet.
 
YoDore said:
It would probably be foolish to think we don’t miss a player with Pierre’s obvious talents. What I will say, though, is that this team is without doubt better than last year’s team. The obvious question then becomes how much better would it be with Pierre added to the mix? I don’t know the answer.

I understand what you’re saying about measuring progress by how the team does against Texas, South Carolina, LSU, Oklahoma and Ole Miss. At the same time, though, that’s two very probable final-four teams (Texas and SC) and another, LSU, that many feel has the best chance to elbow its way into the top-four group that also includes UConn and UCLA. Oklahoma could reasonably be forecast a step behind or in front of LSU, and Ole Miss is probably a step behind or in front of Oklahoma. (Then you’ve also got your Kentuckys and Tennessees to face).

I always try to have modest expectations. Final four has not even entered my mind. Competing with final-four type teams would be an obvious step forward for the program, but I do think there could be other, intermediate markers along the way. My Vandy fan PTSD won’t let me expect more. Not yet.
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Geez, I didn't even mention Kentucky or Tennessee. Let's put it this way. UConn is loaded but they would not, in my opinion, go undefeated in the SEC. The regular season conference champ might have two losses.
 
Ok Massey has Vandy with 7 losses in SEC play. SC is listed as undefeated, Texas and LSU with 2 losses, Oklahoma with 3 and Tennessee with 4 Ole Miss 5 and Kentucky with 7.
 
DefenseBB said:
Ok Massey has Vandy with 7 losses in SEC play. SC is listed as undefeated, Texas and LSU with 2 losses, Oklahoma with 3 and Tennessee with 4 Ole Miss 5 and Kentucky with 7.
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I think Scar is listed as having two more expected losses. I can’t believe that they would have any non-conference losses with their remaining schedule.

I would guess a loss to LSU in Baton Rouge and win over Texas In Columbia and one other conference loss to Tennessee or Vandy or Oklahoma.
 
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victor64 said:
Geez, I didn't even mention Kentucky or Tennessee. Let's put it this way. UConn is loaded but they would not, in my opinion, go undefeated in the SEC. The regular season conference champ might have two losses.
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Some interesting things in the Massey ratings with Texas rated at 2 in the country, South Carolina at 3, LSU at 4 and Oklahoma at 7. I think most people would have those four teams at the top of the SEC in some order or another at season’s end.

What caught my attention, though, is what happens starting at the 15th spot where Tennessee resides. Five SEC teams are ranked between 15 and 21. UT (15), Vandy (17), Ole Miss (18), Kentucky (20) and Alabama (21).

Let’s assume for the moment that the Massey ratings hold true. That means there is one heck of a battle shaping up for spots 5 through 9 in the conference standings. While I am not confident about our chances to break into the top four, I do feel that, win , lose or draw, we can go toe-to-toe with the other four teams in that second tier of teams.

A 10-6 record could put you in serious contention for that fifth spot in the standings and the good tourney draw that comes with it, and 9-7 isn’t out of the question.

Of those five teams, only Vanderbilt and Kentucky play each other twice. Bama gets the short end with South Carolina two times, Ole Miss gets Georgia twice, and the Vols get Mississippi State.

There’s going to be some intriguing matchups along the way. It all gets started New Year’s Day.
 
Vandy moved to 11-0 with a 64-35 win over UAlbany last night. Not an inspired performance on the offensive end, but, for the most part, the defense was really good. Held Albany to seven points in the first quarter and four in the fourth. Albany is actually a good basketball team, but they couldn’t match Vandy’s length and athleticism.

Mikayla Blakes wound up with 17 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds and six steals while playing just over three quarters. Aubrey Galvan had 15 points, 4 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Aiyana Mitchell had 14 points. Something that surprised me: Mitchell came into the game averaging 17.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per 40 minutes.

This is the first time Vandy has started the season at 11-0 in 30 years. Jim Foster and Shea Ralph are the only coaches in program history to do it.
 
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Coach Ralph has some interesting comments following last night’s 29-point win over Albany, namely that there are issues cropping up on a consistent basis that could keep her team from being what it could be. Basically, she’s saying the team is not elite, but it could be if they will address those issues.

 
Vandy set a program record today with 18 three-pointers in a 96-46 win over an overmatched Texas Southern squad. The onslaught was led by Justine Pissott who hit seven treys (7 for 10) in just over 20 minutes. She had a career high 25 points. Mikayla Blakes had 23, and freshman point guard Aubrey Galvan dished out 11 assists.

The Dores were favored by 50 plus on the NET predictor and won by 50 in spite of playing reserves for the entire fourth quarter and much of the rest of the game. In fact, Blakes had the most floor time with 23 minutes.

No apologies, though. It was a game to give the team a good workout on the way out the door for Christmas vacation. They’ll have a similar contest eight days from now to get their game legs back, then dive into SEC play January 1.
 
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