In the last few weeks Vanderbilt's been getting some real positive pub: lots of love for
super frosh AJ Ogilvy, a spot in
ESPN's Power 16, and a climb to #17 in the AP poll. Then, on the day
Vandy Sports Line celebrates the Commies' climb to #1 in Ken Pomeroy's RPI rankings,
Pomeroy blasts Vandy as one (along with Miami and Oregon) of the nation's paper giants:
The Commodores have already survived close calls against South Alabama (double overtime), DePaul (overtime) and Wake Forest (three-point win). None of these may end up being quality wins when we look back in March, but nonetheless Vanderbilt is ranked 17th in the latest AP poll. With five home games coming up, and only one of them a potential loss (UMass), Vandy should be 15-0 and on the doorstep of the top 10 heading into SEC play. This is another team where perception will far outweigh performance.
Ouch. But the 'Dores have Ogilvy and Shan Foster playing really well, so doesn't that count for something? Shouldn't the fact that Vandy has come through in close games make them battle-tested?
Consider that if they had lost two of those three close calls, Vandy wouldn't be much different as a team...and they also wouldn't be ranked. The point here is that the Commodores schedule has been incredibly weak. There are quite a few other teams with blemishes on their record that could have rolled through Vandy's slate given the same amount of late-game fortune.
OK, but part of fortune is the residue of design. With VU relying so heavily on a freshman and breaking in so many players that weren't , there's going to be some growing pains. I'm not going to argue too heavily against Pomeroy (I don't have the chops, that guy digests more basketball for breakfast than I've seen in my lifetime), but I'm not going to dismiss the Commies too quickly either. They may not be the 17th best team in America, but with the SEC looking a little down this year, VU has an open door to a good conference record and a solid seed in March.
