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The Vanderbilt Commodores haven’t officially set the 2017-18 nonconference schedule yet, but the schedule is slowly taking shape.
On Tuesday, the Belmont Bruins announced that they will host the Commodores on November 13 at the Curb Event Center. This is a return game from last season, when the Commodores beat the Bruins by a score of 80-66 at Memorial Gym.
Vanderbilt will also host Southern Cal at Memorial Gym on November 19, and the Commodores will host Kansas State on December 3. And the Commodores will host MTSU on December 6 per the Blue Raiders’ schedule.
These four games are in addition to a previously-announced game at Arizona State on December 16, and an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup against TCU on January 27.
| Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Nov. 13 | at Belmont |
| Nov. 19 | Southern Cal |
| Nov. 23-24 | NIT Season Tip-Off (New York) |
| Dec. 3 | Kansas State |
| Dec. 6 | MTSU |
| Dec. 16 | at Arizona State |
| Jan. 27 | TCU |
Vanderbilt will also compete in the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York on November 23 and 24, along with Rhode Island, Seton Hall, and Virginia. That event will also likely come with two on-campus games, including what could be the season opener on or about November 10 (the first official day of the regular season.)
That’s ten non-conference games. With the exempt games from the NIT Season Tip-Off, Vanderbilt presumably has three more non-conference games left to schedule. I would expect Vanderbilt to fill in the non-conference schedule with three buy games, with one likely falling in the week after Thanksgiving and two more in between the Arizona State game on December 16 and the start of the SEC schedule.
Vanderbilt is coming off a 19-16 season which ended with a loss to Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Commodores lose starters Luke Kornet and Nolan Cressler, but return the remaining seven lettermen from last year’s team, including leading scorer Matthew Fisher-Davis.