No. 10 Vanderbilt (20-12, 8-10 SEC) vs. No. 7 Saint Mary’s (Calif.) (25-8, 17-1 WCC)
Friday, March 21 • 2:15 p.m. CT
Rocket Arena • Cleveland, Ohio. • truTV
AT THE TIP
- Vanderbilt returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 on Friday, earning the No. 10 seed in the East Regional. The Commodores will face the No. 7 seed Saint Mary’s Gaels.
- The game will air on truTV with Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkal and Jon Rothstein on the call. Fans can also catch the game on 102.5 The Game with Kevin Ingram and Tim Thompson.
DORES DANCE
- Vanderbilt returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and the 16th time overall.
- The Commodores are 10-16 all-time in March Madness with the most recent victory coming in 2012 over Harvard.
- The Dores have made six Sweet 16 runs in their history and own one Elite Eight banner.
- Vanderbilt closed the season with 15-straight games against NCAA Tournament teams.
ALL-SEC EDWARDS
- Junior Jason Edwards earned All-SEC recognition with a spot on the coaches’ third team.
- Edwards averaged 17.0 ppg in the regular season, including 15.6 in conference play.
- He scored in double figures in 29-of-31 contests this season.
- Edwards is the first Dore to garner All-SEC honors since Liam Robbins in 2023. He’s also the first to score over 500 points in a season since Scotty Pippen Jr.
CLEVELAND CONNECTION
- The Dores head to Cleveland and Rocket Arena where former Commodore and local product Darius Garland stars for the Cavaliers.
- Ironically, the Cavs spent two days in Nashville last week working out at the Commodores’ new facility, the Huber Center.
- Garland is a two-time NBA All-Star, including this season while averaging 21 pts and 6.7 assists for the league-leading Cavaliers.
- Garland attended Brentwood Academy, the same high school where current Vandy freshman Tyler Tanner played.
SERIES HISTORY
- Vandy and Saint Mary’s meet in the NCAA Tournament for the first time and the fifth overall.
- Vanderbilt leads the all-time series 3-1. The Gaels claimed the most recent meeting, winning 75-65 in the 2022 Wooden Legacy.
- The two have one postseason meeting, a 75-64 Vandy victory in the 2015 NIT.
