No. 24/24 Vanderbilt (18-5, 5-4 SEC) at No. 4/6 Texas (22-2, 8-1 SEC)
Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 • 8 p.m. CT
Moody Center • Austin, Texas • SEC Network
94.9 The Fan • Vanderbilt Athletics App • Live Stats • Game Notes
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 24/24-ranked Vanderbilt women’s basketball team is set for a top-25 matchup on the road on Thursday, as the Commodores take on No. 4/6-ranked Texas. Tipoff against the Longhorns is set for 8 p.m. and airs live on SEC Network.
Starting Five
>> The Dores come into Thursday looking to get back into the win column, as Vandy dropped a 76-61 home contest to Ole Miss this past Sunday to snap a four-game winning streak. Vanderbilt holds an 18-5 overall record and is 5-4 in SEC play.
>> The Commodores appeared in both major women’s college basketball polls for the second-straight week. Vandy checked in at No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll this week, dropping one spot in each poll. It marks the first time since the 2013-14 season that the Dores have been ranked in both polls for multiple weeks.
>> The No. 24-ranked Commodores head to the heart of Texas searching for their third-straight road victory. Vanderbilt has won back-to-back road games, having posted wins at No. 19 Alabama (66-64) and at Florida (99-86). Vandy is 5-2 in true road games this season. The last time Vandy won three-straight road SEC games came just last season when the Dores won each of their last four conference road games of the year.
>> Vanderbilt and Texas rekindle a series that dates back to the 1984-85 campaign but only includes five games. The Commodores hold a 4-1 advantage against the Longhorns all-time and have won four-straight in the series. The last matchup came during the 1996-97 season, with Vandy claiming the 67-65 victory in Memorial Gymnasium on Dec. 29. Thursday’s game will be the first time that Vanderbilt and Texas will play as SEC foes, with the Longhorns in their inaugural season in the conference.
>> Vandy is 2-1 vs. Texas in Austin in the all-time series. The Commodores have won two-consecutive games against the Longhorns on their homecourt, though Thursday’s matchup will be the first time the two have squared off in the Moody Center, which opened in 2022. The last time Vanderbilt traveled to Austin, Texas, was Dec. 20, 1995, when the Dores walked away with a 61-57 win.
Game Coverage
Thursday’s contest at No. 4/6 Texas airs live on SEC Network with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty calling the action. Fans can listen to Jake Lyman locally on 94.9 The Fan and the Vanderbilt Commodores app outside of Nashville. Fans can also follow along via live stats.
NET Ranking
Vanderbilt enters Thursday holding a NET ranking of 19. The Commodores came in at No. 7 in the first NET ranking of the 2024-25 season, the highest NET ranking in program history. The NET is an evaluation tool the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee uses to determine seeding and at-large bids.
Blakes Wins AP Player of the Week
Freshman Mikayla Blakes was named the Associated Press Player of the Week on Feb. 4. She becomes the first Commodore in program history to be named AP Player of the Week, with the award starting in 2023-24. It is the second-straight week that Blakes was recognized by the AP, as she was runner-up for the award on Jan. 28.
Record-Setting SEC Freshman of the Week Award
Mikayla Blakes was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the fifth time this season, tying her with Khamil Pierre (2023-24) for the most freshmen SEC weekly honors in program history. Blakes broke the SEC women’s basketball single-game scoring record with 53 points at Florida on Jan. 30. For the week, Blakes averaged 34.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game.
National Player of the Year Watch List for Blakes and Pierre
Mikayla Blakes and Khamil Pierre, the nation’s highest-scoring duo, were selected to the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Year Award midseason top 50 watch list.
Pierre has taken one of the biggest leaps forward in the country this season from last season, as she has improved her scoring average by 12.1 points from her freshman campaign. Pierre is putting up 21.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game this season, making her the only player in the country to average over 20.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.
Blakes is making a strong case for national freshman of the year consideration. The 5-8 guard leads all NCAA Division I freshmen in scoring (22.1 ppg), points scored (509), and field goals made (172).
Blakes Up for Nation’s Best Shooting Guard
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced on Feb. 4 that freshman Mikayla Blakes has been named to the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Award top 10 watch list.
Blakes is the first Commodore to be considered for the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award, which goes to the nation’s top shooting guard since 2018 as part of the Naismith Starting Five awards. The Somerset, New Jersey, native all NCAA Division I freshmen in scoring (22.1 ppg), points scored (509), and field goals made (172). Blakes recently set the SEC women’s basketball and NCAA true freshman scoring records with a 53-point performance at Florida on Jan. 30.
Putting Up The Points
Vanderbilt’s 85.3 points per game average is seventh-best in all of NCAA Division I this season, while it is fourth-highest scoring average in the SEC. Vandy has scored 90-plus points in 11 games this season.
Cashing In at the Free Throw Line
The Commodores enter the week leading the SEC in team free throw percentage at 77.9 percent. It is the 19th-best free throw percentage in NCAA Division I this season. Freshman Mikayla Blakes leads Vanderbilt with an 86.2 percent free throw percentage. Blakes is making 88.5 percent (23-of-26) of her free throws in SEC play.
JO’s Leadership
Graduate student Jordyn Oliver enters Thursday ranked ninth in NCAA Division I in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.93. The guard leads the team in assists at 3.8 per game, while her 88 total assists are 10th-most in the SEC this season.
Oliver, who is in her sixth season of collegiate basketball, has played in 136 career games, which is tied for 89th-most by active NCAA Division I players.
Looking for Another Ranked Win
Vanderbilt has an opportunity to pick up a third win over a top-25 team this season when they travel to No. 4/6 Texas.
The Commodores have collected wins over No. 15 Tennessee (71-70) and at No. 19 Alabama (66-64), marking the first time since the 2015-16 campaign the Dores have posted multiple wins over ranked teams in the same season. Vanderbilt will be searching for its second top-25 road win of the campaign.
The last time the Commodores knocked off multiple top-25 teams on the road in the same season came during the 2015-16 campaign. Vanderbilt won at No. 12/12 Kentucky, 71-69, and at No. 24/24 Missouri, 56-52, that season. The win at No. 24-ranked Missouri on Feb. 28, 2016, was also the last time Vanderbilt collected a win over a ranked team on the road.
Scouting the Longhorns
Texas comes into Sunday at 22-2 and 8-1 in SEC play. The Longhorns are No. 4 in this week’s AP Top 25 and No. 6 in the USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll. Texas enters the weekend at No. 3 in the NET rankings.
Sophomore Madison Booker leads a trio of double-digit scorers for the Longhorns at 16.2 points per game. Senior Taylor Jones is putting up 12.4 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds per contest. Senior Rori Harmon is chipping in 10.1 points per game and paces Texas with 6.3 assists per outing.
The Longhorns are putting up 84.6 points per game through 24 games this season. Texas is shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 30.2 percent on 3-point field goals. Defensively, teams are putting up 56.4 points per game against the Longhorns while shooting 38.9 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from behind the arc.
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