The 2024-25 college basketball season was one of magic and redemption for the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Commodore Nation watched fondly this year as head coach Mark Byington revitalized a basketball program that hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament in 8 years and won 20 games en route to an at-large bid to the Big Dance. The turnaround brought back a once-lost sense of Memorial Magic and — via two court storms and four AP Top 15 wins — lit Vanderbilt’s campus on fire.
There’s a real chance that fans look back at 2024-25 as the season that helped them fall back in love with Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball.
This year was also one of inconsistency, and that was on full display during the team’s 59-56 loss to the Saint Mary’s Gaels. It was an instant classic, not unlike Vanderbilt’s last game in the Round of 64 way back in 2017, but another second-half collapse led to a Vanderbilt loss.
The Gaels crashed the glass and outrebounded Vanderbilt all afternoon, grabbing 41 rebounds to the Commodores’ 28. Saint Mary’s starters came alive after a poor performance in the first half — four players scored over 12 points. The Gaels scored 37 second-half points to overcome a double-digit deficit and advance to the Round of 32.
Jason Edwards led the Commodores in scoring with 18 points and was sharp all afternoon, but an 8-for-26 performance from downtown doomed the Black and Gold. Regardless of the outcome, there’s plenty to take away from this game as Vanderbilt looks forward to the 2025-26 season. Let’s talk about it.
Second-half scares
Did anyone forget about the second-half woes? The Black and Gold’s final six games featured three sensational wins before three putrid losses, but none of them — outside of Georgia — really showcased the team’s tendency to collapse in the second frame.
For those who did forget, Saint Mary’s probably reminded you. The Commodores went on multiple 3-minute scoring droughts throughout the final 20 minutes of the game, and the Gaels went on a 16-4 run to tie the game after trailing by 12. Fans in Cleveland (and across the country) watched on in silent horror as Byington’s crew fell apart down the stretch. Eventually, Saint Mary’s recaptured the lead on a triple, and it never looked back.
This isn’t a new story. It’s probably the most well-documented theme of this Vanderbilt team. But it can’t go unmentioned. Saint Mary’s is one of the slowest teams in the country and shouldn’t be able to go on extended scoring runs in any game — but Vanderbilt let it happen.
Playing the wrong way
The number one stat that media members and fans alike spoke about during the week leading up to this game was pace. Vanderbilt employs a fast-paced style, while Saint Mary’s likes to churn out its offense and limit the number of possessions in the game.
You wouldn’t have had to watch the game to know which style was played — this was the lowest-scoring game of the postseason so far. The Gaels controlled the pace of this game.
A handful of fast-break opportunities gave Vanderbilt some chances to impose its will on the game, but head coach Randy Bennett and his team got what they wanted out of this one. The Commodores survived at this pace through the first half and parts of the second half, but they eventually ran out of steam.
Vanderbilt’s best chance of winning this game was through speedy play and transition buckets. It didn’t do that, and it suffered the consequences.
Edwards’ arrival on the national stage
Edwards was often the common denominator in Vanderbilt’s biggest wins and worst losses of the year. Three of his worst performances of the season — games against Mississippi State, Auburn and Arkansas — directly corresponded to the Black and Gold’s three home losses. In those games, he scored 0, 13 and 2 points, respectively, and shot a cumulative 1-for-14 from downtown and failed to make a free throw against the Bulldogs and the Razorbacks.
Against Saint Mary’s, though? Edwards showed the nation that he’s an elite scorer. He started the game slow and missed a handful of low-quality 3-pointers before settling in after the under-12-minute media timeout. Whatever Byington and he spoke about in the huddle clearly helped because the junior completely changed his approach. He stopped forcing bad 3-pointers and instead used his sensational speed to his advantage. When all looked bleak and Vanderbilt relinquished its lead, he hit a clutch triple in transition.
Vanderbilt faced a serious disadvantage in this game against the Gaels’ size. Saint Mary’s had the height it needed to control the paint in this game completely — but it didn’t. A lot of that was because Edwards’ speed got Augustus Marciulionis in foul trouble and kept the Gaels’ bigs guessing.
It might not have been enough to lead the team to the Round of 32, but Edwards’ performance was significant because he put on a show on the biggest stages.
Edwards and the Commodores will now sit with their loss, reflect on it and use it as an opportunity to grow ahead of the beginning of their next season in November 2025.
