Vanderbilt Commodores (7-2) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (8-2)

When: 6:00 PM CT, Saturday, December 22, 2018

Where: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri

TV: ESPN2/WatchESPN

Radio: Vanderbilt IMG Sports Network

Quietly, Vanderbilt has a 7-2 record through nine games — 3-1 in four games since Darius Garland was lost for the season with a knee injury. But the Commodores so far lack a signature win. It looked like an early road win at USC might have been that, but the Trojans are now 5-6 and #148 in the NCAA’s NET rating. Home wins over Arizona State (#43 in NET) and Liberty (#49 in NET... somehow) are nice, but neither is considered a Quadrant 1 win. Vanderbilt whiffed in its only chance thus far (a neutral-court game against #8 NC State.)

Tonight’s game would qualify. Kansas State is 8-2 and #36 in NET and, even though this is basically a road game in Kansas City, even counting it as a “neutral court” would qualify a win over the Wildcats as Quadrant 1. What’s more, Kansas State is currently flagging, with a recent loss to Tulsa followed by unimpressive wins over Georgia State and Southern Miss. And they’re without one of their best players.

In other words, opportunities for quality wins don’t get much better than this. Let’s win. Anchor Down.