March 15, 2015
Vanderbilt basketball is headed to the postseason after being named to the National Invitational Field on Sunday night as a #5 seed in the Colorado State quadrant and will play on the road at #4 Saint Mary’s on Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Vanderbilt will make their 12th appearance in the NIT and their first appearance since 2006. Other appearances have come in 1983, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2005.
In all, this will be Vanderbilt’s 25th postseason appearance.
This will be Coach Kevin Stallings’ fifth NIT and 11th postseason appearance as Commodore coach. Stallings has a 3-4 all-time record in the NIT. The Commodores have an 18-10 overall record in the tournament (.643) and the Commodores captured the 1990 NIT and finished runner-up in 1994.
Vanderbilt’s last game in the NIT came on March 15, 2006, in a 79-69 loss at Notre Dame.
“We are thrilled to receive an opportunity from the NIT to extend our season,” said Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings. “This tournament appearance will provide invaluable practice time and playing experience to our young team that will propel us into the summer and into next season. We’re very excited.”
Saint Mary’s enters Wednesday’s game with a 21-9 overall record and finished with a 13-5 record in the West Coast Conference. Brad Waldow leads the Gaels with 19.3 points per game.
The two teams played a home-and-home series in 2009-10 and in 2010-11, with Vanderbilt winning both meetings – a 72-70 win on November 20, 2009 at Saint Mary’s, and 89-70 on January 22, 2011, at Memorial Gym.
Vanderbilt finished the regular season 19-13 and the winners of five of their last six and eight out of their last 11. Seven of the eight players in the Commodores’ primary rotation are freshmen and sophomores.
All tickets to the Saint Mary’s-Vanderbilt contest will be sold through Saint Mary’s, and can be purchased by calling 925-631-GOTX or visiting smcgaels.com